Mike Johnson LIVE: Weekly Updates on Legislative Agenda and Future Plans | Iran War | Trump | Hormuz

Added: 2026-05-22

[00:00:00]Uh with that, I'll turn it over to Chairman Hill for uh the latest on the housing bill.

[00:00:04]>> Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank all of you for being with us this morning. Next week on the suspension calendar, we'll bring the uh House amendments to the Senate passed housing bill. This has been a collaborative effort since the 118th Congress between Senator Scott and myself to bring a housing bill that's supply sideoriented that'll increase the accessibility of housing and also the affordability of housing. This is a key uh uh I'd say goal of House and Senate Republicans and it's obviously a key goal of President Trump because he talked about it in the spa State of the Union and this bill has a provision in it that meets his request that we limit institutional investors from being out there competing with Mary and John in their attempt to buy a house. This is in the bill. It's in the bill in the right way. I think it removes some of the legal challenges that we felt that were in the structure of the Senate bill. We think this has made a better bill and I want to say uh thanks to Senator Scott and his team working over the last few months. Congratulate him also on the Clarity Act which voted out of the Senate Banking Committee with a bipartisan vote last uh yesterday. This is a very important priority also for President Trump and House and Senate Republicans. And so we look forward to a good vote that will advance housing affordability, howing housing accessibility, help our American families in all 50 states, and also accomplish President Trump's goal of limiting institutional investors ability to compete against our moms and dads who are out trying to buy a house.

[00:01:34]>> Thank you. Couple questions, >> uh, yesterday the House defeated an Iran world powers resolution, but there were two new Republicans that voted for it.

[00:01:42]Are you confident that you can keep feeding back these types of >> Yes. Look, Iran is in a we're not having kinetic activity right now as we would say. Um the president has declared operation epic fury uh to have concluded and now we're working on the next project which is getting the straight of Hormuz open. Uh we don't expect uh that to be a warfare activity so to speak. So we've got to allow the administration time to negotiate these things. The president has been doing that in earnest. The difficulty, as they've articulated in the White House, is that you got to make sure you're negotiating with the right parties and it's taken Iran some time because the top layers of leadership were taken out um to to make sure the the right people with the right authority are at the table. So, that's been the complicating factor. I do know that our allies and our neighbors and friends are around the world and most recently in the discussion the president had with Xi in China just in the last couple of days, um everyone has an interest in the straight being reopened for commerce. And so you're going to have, I think, international partners who assist with that. We think it comes to a conclusion soon. And I don't think uh Congress needs to get in the way of the administration as they finish what is now a negotiation instead of a a military conflict. That's the way we see it. So we'll see how that goes.

[00:02:50]>> The health ethics committee confirmed its investigation to uh Congressman Edwards. Has there been a conversation about addressing uh potentially the onboarding process for these congressmen considering there's been two resignations over similar allegations?

[00:03:04]Well, look, the two resignations were all these are individualized and special cases. They're different facts, different scenarios, different circumstances. And in the case of Swallwell, I mean, there was a long pattern of abuses that apparently everybody on Capitol Hill knew about except me. Uh, and and it was right for him to resign. Uh, in the case of Tony Gonzalez, I mean, there was a long uh really detailed due process investigation through ethics um the ethics committee and he made a determination to step down. That was the appropriate thing as well. I am very consistent, intellectually consistent in every way. No matter you're whether you're talking about a Republican or a Democrat, everyone is due due process.

[00:03:40]If an allegation is made against someone, that is not reason for expulsion or disciplinary action. People get a chance to present their case.

[00:03:47]That's what the House Ethics Committee is all about. It's a process that has worked for a long, long time in this chamber. It's a very active committee right now. They'll concede that to you.

[00:03:56]But we've got to get on top of this.

[00:03:57]Now, you know, this week we now announced a new uh bipartisan measure.

[00:04:01]I'm really proud of this effort. It's probably long overdue, but uh myself and Democratic leader Hakee Jeff both um have u endorsed this and and set it in place. So, you have the Republicans Women's Caucus and the Democratic Women's Caucus working together in a in a partnership as they like to call it to work through the issues of misconduct of members with staff to make sure that in particular here, especially female staff members who work on Capitol Hill are comfortable and safe. And there needs to be better reporting mechanisms perhaps on on uh uh you know when lines are crossed. We're going to police that very carefully. We're going to make sure that this is the safest place in America to work as it should be. And so looking forward to that group and and the the productive ideas that come out of that and I'm really proud that that's a bipartisan effort as it should be. I'll bless it and move that as aggressively as possible and we'll get that uh in place so it'll help solve the problem.

[00:04:52]>> As you laid out your legislative agenda, we know that there's a packed calendar coming up. You always have your narrow majority in the back of your mind. Next week, all eyes are going to be on Kucky's fourth congressional district.

[00:05:05]Who do you believe right now is the best person to coalesce around the conference to deliver on those priorities, particularly in the president's second term? Well, I watch all the the uh primaries very carefully, of course, and the speaker is in charge of the whole map and and we're going to keep and grow this majority uh in this cycle, and I'm absolutely convinced, especially after the redistricting uh changes to the map.

[00:05:27]Uh we we feel very very bullish about this. So, we're going to run right through the tape. I'm not going to get engaged in these individual primaries.

[00:05:33]We see how it uh sorts out. But uh we're going to have a great crop of people. We recruited extraordinary candidates this cycle on the Republican side. I mean, great Americans who are going to come here and serve uh faithfully and patriotically. and we're looking forward to that new class coming in. Yes, ma'am.

[00:05:46]>> On foreign policy, should President Trump have been more committal when it comes to Taiwan during his visit to China?

[00:05:55]>> I haven't seen the I've been really busy last couple days, so I haven't seen the exact readout on on how that discussion went. I've heard him heard a couple little comments offhand of what he said.

[00:06:03]He feels like they had a very productive meeting. They talked about some really important issues, and I'm awaiting uh to sit down with him and go through it in detail. We had an exchange tax last night, but um he's on the way back now, I think. And um we'll sit down and go through it. We'll find out. Look, we've always been concerned and we've made America's interest very clear our position on Taiwan. Um they need to be stay independent and secure there and we have an interest in that as everybody around the world because of chip manufacturing and other reasons there.

[00:06:31]I'm sure they discussed that, but I don't know the details of it because I haven't talked to the president yet. So, one more. Yes. The House ethics chair Michael Chest says his committee needs more resources to move matters more quickly through his committee. Will you give ethics committee more resources?

[00:06:44]>> Well, that's first I've heard of it. I mean, obviously we'll dedicate whatever resources are necessary to ensure the House ethics committee does its job as um as it should and I would concede and he has had a great challenge. The chairman of ethics committee uh that committee is very busy right now.

[00:06:57]There's lots of allegations flying around. So, we we'll make sure that they have everything they need to get the job done and we'll continue to uh again police these things as best we can. We need every member of Congress on both sides of the aisle to act appropriately and according to the dignity of their office. It's a small ask and I 99% of the people around here do that every day. Uh those that don't will face disciplinary action and we're going to we're going to police our own. We'll do that. Thank you all so much.

[00:07:20]>> Thank you.

[00:07:35]We didn't well before the end of the fiscal year.

[00:08:04]So stay tuned for more of that action.

[00:08:07]We're also turning our attention uh to a big week next week here in Congress. Um we're going to have a lot of important measures scheduled for floor action. Let me list a couple of them for you. First, our bipartisan housing affordability legislation. This will be landmark legislation that will help increase the supply of housing around the country and bring down the cost. It's going to help more American families pursue the American dream of home ownership. And I have with me Chairman French Hill of the Financial Services Committee in the House who's done extraordinary work.

[00:08:35]Again, bipartisan on this and he'll address that in just a moment. Also on the floor next week, long-awaited legislation, the SCORE Act. This is going to support student athletes and the educational mission of college athletics. really important critical stuff to get the NIL kind of madness under control and Congress is stepping up to lead on that and we're happy to do it. And finally, the reconciliation 2.0 legislation uh which has been developing now to fully fund the immigration enforcement and border protection for 3 years through the rest of the Trump administration. And I will say this is despite incredibly despite Democrat opposition. Think of it. They do not want to give $1 to secure your border and to enforce federal immigration law to keep your streets and communities safe. It's unbelievable to us, but that's where it is. Republicans have to do it on our own, and we will do that next week and finally get that done.

[00:09:28]Once again, despite constant skepticism around here from the press that uh we can't perform, we are getting it done.

[00:09:35]We get it done every week. Um sometimes it's a slow process, but we check the boxes and we're delivering for the American people. Promises made, promises kept. With that, I'll turn it over to Chairman Hill for the latest on the housing bill.

[00:09:47]>> Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank all of you for being with us this morning. Next week on the suspension calendar will bring the uh House amendments to the Senate passed housing bill. This has been a collaborative effort since the 118th Congress between Senator Scott and myself to bring a housing bill that's supply sideoriented that'll increase the accessibility of housing and also the affordability of housing. This is a key uh uh I'd say goal of House and Senate Republicans and it's obviously a key goal of President Trump because he talked about it in the spa State of the Union and this bill has a provision in it that meets his request that we limit institutional investors from being out there competing with Mary and John in their attempt to buy a house. This is in the bill. It's in the bill in the right way. I think it removes some of the legal challenges that we felt that were in the structure of the Senate bill. We think this has made a better bill. And I want to say uh thanks to Senator Scott and his team working over the last few months. Congratulate him also on the Clarity Act which voted out of the Senate Banking Committee with a bipartisan vote last uh yesterday. This is a very important priority also for President Trump and House and Senate Republicans. And so we look forward to a good vote that will advance housing affordability, howing housing accessibility, help our American families in all 50 states, and also accomplish President Trump's goal of limiting institutional investors ability to compete against our moms and dads who are out trying to buy a house.

[00:11:16]>> Thank you. Couple questions, >> speaker, uh, yesterday the House defeated an Iran war powers resolution, but there were two new Republicans that voted for it. Are you confident that you can keep giving back these types of >> Yes. Look, Iran is in a we're not having kinetic activity right now as we would say. Um the president has declared operation epic fury uh to have concluded and now we're working on the next project which is getting the straight of Hormuz open. Uh we don't expect uh that to be a warfare activity so to speak. So we've got to allow the administration time to negotiate these things. The president has been doing that in earnest. The difficulty as they've articulated in the White House is that you got to make sure you're negotiating with the right parties and it's taken Iran some time because the top layers of leadership were taken out um to to make sure the the right people with the right authority are at the table. So that's been the complicating factor. I do know that our allies and our neighbors and friends are around the world and most recently in the discussion the president had with Xi in China just in the last couple of days. Um, everyone has an interest in the straight being reopened for commerce and so you're going to have I think international partners who assist with that. We think it comes to a conclusion soon and I don't think uh Congress needs to get in the way of the administration as they finish what is now a negotiation instead of a a military conflict. That's the way we see it. So we'll see how that goes. The health ethics committee confirmed its investigation to uh Congressman Edwards.

[00:12:37]Has there been a conversation about addressing uh potentially the onboarding process for these congress people considering there's been two resignations over similar allegations?

[00:12:46]>> Well, look, the two resignations were all these are individualized and special cases. They're different facts, different scenarios, different circumstances. And in the case of Swallwell, I mean, there was a long pattern of abuses that apparently everybody on Capitol Hill knew about except me. uh and and it was right for him to resign. Uh in the case of Tony Gonzalez, I mean, there was a long uh really detailed due process investigation through ethics um the ethics committee and he made a determination to step down. That was the appropriate thing as well. I am very consistent, intellectually consistent in every way, no matter whether you're talking about a Republican or a Democrat, everyone is due due process.

[00:13:22]If an allegation is made against someone, that is not reason for expulsion or disciplinary action. people get a chance to present their case.

[00:13:30]That's what the House Ethics Committee is all about. It's a process that has worked for a long, long time in this chamber. It's a very active committee right now. I'll concede that to you. But we've got to get on top of this. Now, you know, this week we now announced a new uh bipartisan measure. I'm really proud of this effort. It's probably long overdue, but uh myself and Democrat leader Hakee Jeff both um have u endorsed this and and set it in place.

[00:13:53]So you have the Republicans Women's Caucus and the Democratic Women's Caucus working together in a in a partnership as they like to call it to work through the issues of misconduct of members with staff to make sure that in particular here especially female staff members who work on Capitol Hill are comfortable and safe and there needs to be better reporting mechanisms perhaps on on uh uh you know when lines are crossed. We're going to police that very carefully.

[00:14:19]We're going to make sure that this is the safest place in America to work as it should be. And so looking forward to that group and and the the productive ideas that come out of that and I'm really proud that that's a bipartisan effort as it should be. I'll bless it and move that as aggressively as possible and we'll get that uh in place so it'll help solve the problem.

[00:14:35]>> You just artfully laid out your legislative agenda. We know that there's a packed calendar coming up. You always have your narrow majority in the back of your mind. Next week all eyes are going to be on Kucky's fourth congressional district. Who do you believe right now is the best person to coalesce around the conference to deliver on those priorities particularly in the president's second term?

[00:14:57]>> Well, I watch all the the U primaries very carefully of course and the speaker is in charge of the whole map and and we're going to keep and grow this majority uh in this cycle and I'm absolutely commence especially after the redistricting uh changes to the map. Uh we we feel very very bullish about this.

[00:15:12]So we're going to run right through the tape. I'm not going to get engaged in these individual primaries. We see how it uh sorts out. But uh we're going to have a great crop of people. We recruited extraordinary candidates this cycle on the Republican side. I mean, great Americans who are going to come here and serve uh faithfully and patriotically, and we're looking forward to that new class coming in. Yes, ma'am.

[00:15:29]>> On foreign policy, should President Trump have been more committal when it come to Taiwan during his visit to China?

[00:15:37]>> I haven't seen the I've been really busy last couple days, so I haven't seen the exact readout on on how that discussion went. I've heard him I heard a couple little comments offhand of what he said.

[00:15:45]He feels like they had a very productive meeting. They talked about some really important issues and I'm awaiting uh sit down with him and go through it in detail. We had an exchange text last night, but um he's on the way back now, I think, and um we'll sit down and go through it. We'll find out. Look, we've always been concerned and we've made America's interest very clear our position on Taiwan. um they need to be stay independent and secure there and we have an interest in that as everybody around the world because of chip manufacturing and other reasons there.

[00:16:14]I'm sure they discussed that but I don't know the details of it because I haven't talked to the president yet. So one more. Yes.

[00:16:18]>> The house ethics chair Michael says his committee needs more resources to move vers quickly through his committee. Will you give ethics committee more resources?

[00:16:26]>> Well, that's first I've heard of it. I mean obviously we'll dedicate whatever resources are necessary to ensure the house ethics committee does its job as um as it should and I would concede and he has had a great challenge. The chairman of ethics committee uh that committee is very busy right now.

[00:16:39]There's lots of allegations flying around. So we we'll make sure that they have everything they need to get the job done and we'll continue to uh again police these things as best we can. We need every member of Congress on both sides of the aisle to act appropriately and according to the dignity of their office. It's a small ask and I 99% of the people around here do that every day. Uh those that don't will face disciplinary action and we're going to we're going to police our own. We'll do that. Thank you all so much.

[00:17:03]>> Thank you.

[00:17:23]trying to keep on the clock and make sure this happens well before the end of the fiscal year. So stay tuned for more of that action. We're also turning our attention uh to a big week next week here in Congress. Um we're going to have a lot of important measures scheduled for floor action. Let me list a couple of them for you. First, our bipartisan housing affordability legislation. This will be landmark legislation that will help increase the supply of housing around the country and bring down the cost. It's going to help more American families pursue the American dream of home ownership. And I have with me Chairman French Hill of the Financial Services Committee in the House who's done extraordinary work. Again, bipartisan on this and he'll address that in just a moment. Also on the floor next week, long-awaited legislation, the SCORE Act. This is going to support student athletes and the educational mission of college athletics. really important critical stuff to get the NIL kind of madness under control and Congress is stepping up to lead on that and we're happy to do it. And finally, the reconciliation 2.0 legislation uh which has been developing now to fully fund the immigration enforcement and border protection for 3 years through the rest of the Trump administration.

[00:18:30]And I will say this is despite incredibly despite Democrat opposition.

[00:18:36]Think of it. They do not want to give $1 to secure your border and to enforce federal immigration law to keep your streets and communities safe. It's unbelievable to us, but that's where it is. Republicans have to do it on our own, and we will do that next week and finally get that done. Once again, despite constant skepticism around here from the press that uh we can't perform, we are getting it done. We get it done every week. Um sometimes it's a slow process, but we check the boxes and we're delivering for the American people. Promises made, promises kept.

[00:19:05]With that, I'll turn it over to Chairman Hill for the latest on the housing bill.

[00:19:09]>> Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank all of you for being with us this morning. Next week on the suspension calendar, we'll bring the uh House amendments to the Senate passed housing bill. This has been a collaborative effort since the 118th Congress between Senator Scott and myself to bring a housing bill that's supply sideoriented that'll increase the accessibility of housing and also the affordability of housing. This is a key uh uh I'd say goal of House and Senate Republicans and it's obviously a key goal of President Trump because he talked about it in the spa State of the Union and this bill has a provision in it that meets his request that we limit institutional investors from being out there competing with Mary and John in their attempt to buy a house. This is in the bill. It's in the bill in the right way. I think it removes some of the legal challenges that we felt that were in the structure of the Senate bill. We think this has made a better bill. And I want to say uh thanks to Senator Scott and his team working over the last few months. Congratulate him also on the Clarity Act which voted out of the Senate Banking Committee with a bipartisan vote last uh yesterday. This is a very important priority also for President Trump and House and Senate Republicans. And so we look forward to a good vote that will advance housing affordability, howing housing accessibility, help our American families in all 50 states, and also accomplish President Trump's goal of limiting institutional investors ability to compete against our moms and dads who are out trying to buy a house.

[00:20:39]>> Thank you. Couple questions, >> speaker, uh, yesterday the House defeated an Iran warmed powers resolution, but there were two new Republicans that voted for it. Are you confident that you can keep giving back these types of >> Yes. Look, Iran is in a we're not having kinetic activity right now as we would say. Um the president has declared operation epic fury uh to have concluded and now we're working on the next project which is getting the straight of Hormuz open. Uh we don't expect uh that to be a warfare activity so to speak. So we've got to allow the administration time to negotiate these things. The president has been doing that in earnest. The difficulty, as they've articulated in the White House, is that you got to make sure you're negotiating with the right parties and it's taken Iran some time because the top layers of leadership were taken out um to to make sure the the right people with the right authority are at the table. So, that's been the complicating factor. I do know that our allies and our neighbors and friends are around the world and most recently in the discussion the president had with Xi in China just in the last couple of days, um everyone has an interest in the street being reopened for commerce. And so you're going to have, I think, international partners who assist with that. We think it comes to a conclusion soon. And I don't think uh Congress needs to get in the way of the administration as they finish what is now a negotiation instead of a a military conflict. That's the way we see it. So we'll see how that goes.

[00:21:55]>> The health ethics committee confirmed its investigation to uh Congressman Edwards. Has there been a conversation about addressing uh potentially the onboarding process for these congress people considering there's been two resignations over similar allegations?

[00:22:09]Well, look, the two resignations were all these are individualized and special cases. They're different facts, different scenarios, different circumstances. And in the case of Swallwell, I mean, there was a long pattern of abuses that apparently everybody on Capitol Hill knew about except me. Uh, and and it was right for him to resign. Uh, in the case of Tony Gonzalez, I mean, there was a long uh really detailed due process investigation through ethics um the ethics committee and he made a determination to step down. That was the appropriate thing as well. I am very consistent, intellectually consistent in every way. No matter you're whether you're talking about a Republican or a Democrat, everyone is due due process.

[00:22:45]If an allegation is made against someone, that is not reason for expulsion or disciplinary action. People get a chance to present their case.

[00:22:52]That's what the House Ethics Committee is all about. It's a process that has worked for a long, long time in this chamber. It's a very active committee right now. I'll concede that to you. But we've got to get on top of this. Now, you know, this week we now announced a new uh bipartisan measure. I'm really proud of this effort. It's probably long overdue, but uh myself and Democrat leader Hakee Jeff both um have u endorsed this and and set it in place.

[00:23:16]So, you have the Republicans Women's Caucus and the Democratic Women's Caucus working together in a in a partnership as they like to call it to work through the issues of misconduct of members with staff to make sure that in particular here, especially female staff members who work on Capitol Hill are comfortable and safe. And there needs to be better reporting mechanisms perhaps on on uh uh you know when lines are crossed. We're going to police that very carefully.

[00:23:41]We're going to make sure that this is the safest place in America to work as it should be. And so looking forward to that group and and the the productive ideas that come out of that and I'm really proud that that's a bipartisan effort as it should be. I'll bless it and move that as aggressively as possible and we'll get that uh in place so it'll help solve the >> problem. You just artfully laid out your legislative agenda. We know that there's a packed calendar coming up. You always have your narrow majority in the back of your mind. Next week, all eyes are going to be on Kucky's fourth congressional district. Who do you believe right now is the best person to coalesce around the conference to deliver on those priorities, particularly in the president's second term? Well, I watch all the the U primaries very carefully, of course, and the speaker is in charge of the whole map and and we're going to keep and grow this majority uh in this cycle, and I'm absolutely commence, especially after the redistricting uh changes to the map. Uh we we feel very very bullish about this. So, we're going to run right through the tape. I'm not going to get engaged in these individual primaries. We see how it uh sorts out.

[00:24:40]But uh we're going to have a great crop of people. We recruited extraordinary candidates this cycle on the Republican side. I mean, great Americans who are going to come here and serve uh faithfully and patriotically. and we're looking forward to that new class coming in. Yes, ma'am.

[00:24:52]>> On foreign policy, should President Trump have been more committal when it comes to Taiwan during his visit to China?

[00:25:00]>> I haven't seen the I've been really busy last couple days, so I haven't seen the exact readout on on how that discussion went. I've heard him I heard a couple little comments offhand of what he said.

[00:25:08]He feels like they had a very productive meeting. They talked about some really important issues, and I'm awaiting uh sit down with him and go through it in detail. We had an exchange text last night, but um he's on the way back now, I think. And um we'll sit down and go through it. We'll find out. Look, we've always been concerned and we've made America's interest very clear our position on Taiwan. Um they need to be stay independent and secure there and we have an interest in that as everybody around the world because of chip manufacturing and other reasons there.

[00:25:36]I'm sure they discussed that, but I don't know the details of it because I haven't talked to the president yet. So, one more. Yes. The House Ethics Chair Michael Guest says his committee needs more resources to move voters more quickly through his committee. Will you give ethics committee more resources?

[00:25:49]>> Well, that's first I've heard of it. I mean, obviously, we'll dedicate whatever resources are necessary to ensure the House ethics committee does its job as um as it should and I would concede and he has had a great challenge. The chairman of ethics committee uh that committee is very busy right now.

[00:26:02]There's lots of allegations flying around. So, we'll we'll make sure that they have everything they need to get the job done. And we'll continue to uh again police these things as best we can. We need every member of Congress on both sides of the aisle to act appropriately and according to the dignity of their office. It's a small ask and I 99% of the people around here do that every day. Uh those that don't will face disciplinary action and we're going to we're going to police our own.

[00:26:24]We'll do that. Thank you all so much.

[00:26:25]>> Thank you.

[00:26:45]trying to keep on the clock and make sure this happens well before the end of the fiscal year. So stay tuned for more of that action. We're also turning our attention uh to a big week next week here in Congress. Um, we're going to have a lot of important measures scheduled for floor action. Let me list a couple of them for you. First, our bipartisan housing affordability legislation. This will be landmark legislation that will help increase the supply of housing around the country and bring down the cost. It's going to help more American families pursue the American dream of home ownership. And I have with me Chairman French Hill of the Financial Services Committee in the House who's done extraordinary work, again, bipartisan on this, and he'll address that in just a moment. Also on the floor next week, long-awaited legislation, the SCO score act. This is going to support student athletes and the educational mission of college athletics. Really important, critical stuff to get the NIL kind of madness under control. And Congress is stepping up to lead on that and we're happy to do it. And finally, the reconciliation 2.0 legislation uh which has been developing now to fully fund the immigration enforcement and border protection for three years through the rest of the Trump administration. And I will say this is despite incredibly despite Democrat opposition. Think of it. They do not want to give $1 to secure your border and to enforce federal immigration law to keep your streets and communities safe. It's unbelievable to us, but that's where it is. Republicans have to do it on our own. We will do that next week and finally get that done. Once again, despite constant skepticism around here from the press that uh we can't perform, we are getting it done. We get it done every week. Um, sometimes it's a slow process, but we check the boxes and we're delivering for the American people. Promises made, promises kept. With that, I'll turn it over to Chairman Hill for the latest on the housing bill.

[00:28:32]>> Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank all of you for being with us this morning. Next week on the suspension calendar, we'll bring the uh House amendments to the Senate passed housing bill. This has been a collaborative effort since the 118th Congress between Senator Scott and myself to bring a housing bill that's supply sideoriented that'll increase the accessibility of housing and also the affordability of housing. This is a key uh uh I'd say goal of House and Senate Republicans and it's obviously a key goal of President Trump because he talked about it in the spa State of the Union and this bill has a provision in it that meets his request that we limit institutional investors from being out there competing with Mary and John in their attempt to buy a house. This is in the bill. It's in the bill in the right way. I think it removes some of the legal challenges that we felt that were in the structure of the Senate bill. We think this has made a better bill. And I want to say uh thanks to Senator Scott and his team working over the last few months. Congratulate him also on the Clarity Act which voted out of the Senate Banking Committee with a bipartisan vote last uh yesterday. This is a very important priority also for President Trump and House and Senate Republicans. And so we look forward to a good vote that will advance housing affordability, howing housing accessibility, help our American families in all 50 states, and also accomplish President Trump's goal of limiting institutional investors ability to compete against our moms and dads who are out trying to buy a house.

[00:30:01]>> Thank you. Couple questions, uh, yesterday the House defeated an Iran warmed powers resolution, but there were two new Republicans that voted for it.

[00:30:09]Are you confident that you can keep giving back these types of >> Yes. Look, Iran is in a we're not having kinetic activity right now as we would say. Um the president has declared operation epic fury uh to have concluded and now we're working on the next project which is getting the straight of her open. Uh we don't expect uh that to be a warfare activity so to speak. So we've got to allow the administration time to negotiate these things. The president has been doing that in earnest. The difficulty, as they've articulated in the White House, is that you got to make sure you're negotiating with the right parties and it's taken Iran some time because the top layers of leadership were taken out um to to make sure the the right people with the right authority are at the table. So, that's been the complicating factor. I do know that our allies and our neighbors and friends are around the world and most recently in the discussion the president had with Xi in China just in the last couple of days, um everyone has an interest in the straight being reopened for commerce. And so you're going to have, I think, international partners who assist with that. We think it comes to a conclusion soon. And I don't think uh Congress needs to get in the way of the administration as they finish what is now a negotiation instead of a a military conflict. That's the way we see it. So we'll see how that goes.

[00:31:17]>> The health ethics committee confirmed its investigation to uh Congressman Edwards. Has there been a conversation about addressing uh potentially the onboarding process for these congress people considering there's been two resignations over similar allegations?

[00:31:31]Well, look, the two resignations were all these are individualized and special cases. They're different facts, different scenarios, different circumstances. And in the case of Swallwell, I mean, there was a long pattern of abuses that apparently everybody on Capitol New Hill knew about except me. Uh, and and it was right for him to resign. Uh, in the case of Tony Gonzalez, I mean, there was a long uh really detailed due process investigation through ethics um the ethics committee and he made a determination to step down. That was the appropriate thing as well. I am very consistent, intellectually consistent in every way. No matter you're whether you're talking about a Republican or a Democrat, everyone is due due process.

[00:32:07]If an allegation is made against someone, that is not reason for expulsion or disciplinary action. People get a chance to present their case.

[00:32:15]That's what the House Ethics Committee is all about. It's a process that has worked for a long, long time in this chamber. It's a very active committee right now. I'll concede that to you. But we've got to get on top of this. Now, you know, this week we now announced a new uh bipartisan measure. I'm really proud of this effort. It's probably long overdue, but uh myself and Democrat leader Hakee Jeff both um have u endorsed this and and set it in place.

[00:32:38]So, you have the Republicans Women's Caucus and the Democratic Women's Caucus working together in a in a partnership, as they like to call it, to work through the issues of misconduct of members with staff to make sure that in particular here, especially female staff members who work on Capitol Hill are comfortable and safe. And there needs to be better reporting mechanisms perhaps on on uh uh you know when lines are crossed. We're going to police that very carefully.

[00:33:04]We're going to make sure that this is the safest place in America to work as it should be. And so looking forward to that group and and the the productive ideas that come out of that and I'm really proud that that's a bipartisan effort as it should be. I'll bless it and move that as aggressively as possible and we'll get that uh in place so it'll help solve the >> problem. You just artfully laid out your legislative agenda. We know that there's a packed calendar coming up. You always have your narrow majority in the back of your mind. Next week, all eyes are going to be on Kucky's fourth congressional district. Who do you believe right now is the best person to coalesce around the conference to deliver on those priorities, particularly in the president's second term? Well, I watch all the the U primaries very carefully, of course, and the speaker is in charge of the whole map and and we're going to keep and grow this majority uh in this cycle, and I'm absolutely convinced, especially after the redistricting uh changes to the map. Uh we we feel very very bullish about this. So, we're going to run right through the tape. I'm not going to get engaged in these individual primaries. We see how it uh sorts out.

[00:34:02]But uh we're going to have a great crop of people. We recruited extraordinary candidates this cycle on the Republican side. I mean, great Americans who are going to come here and serve uh faithfully and patriotically. and we're looking forward to that new class coming in. Yes, ma'am.

[00:34:14]>> On foreign policy, should President Trump have been more committal when it comes to Taiwan during his visit to China?

[00:34:22]>> I haven't seen the I've been really busy last couple days, so I haven't seen the exact readout on on how that discussion went. I've heard him I heard a couple little comments offhand of what he said.

[00:34:30]He feels like they had a very productive meeting. They talked about some really important issues and I'm awaiting uh sit down with him and go through it in detail. We had an exchange text last night, but um he's on the way back now, I think. And um we'll sit down and go through it. We'll find out. Look, we've always been concerned and we've made America's interest very clear our position on Taiwan. Um they need to be stay independent and secure there and we have an interest in that as everybody around the world because of chip manufacturing and other reasons there.

[00:34:58]I'm sure they discussed that, but I don't know the details of it because I haven't talked to the president yet. So, Mr. The House Ethics Chair Michael Guest says his committee needs more resources to move voters more quickly through his committee. Will you give ethics committee more resources?

[00:35:11]>> Well, that's first I've heard of it. I mean, obviously, we'll dedicate whatever resources are necessary to ensure the House ethics committee does its job as um as it should and I would concede and he has had a great challenge. The chairman of ethics committee uh that committee is very busy right now.

[00:35:24]There's lots of allegations flying around. And so we we'll make sure that they have everything they need to get the job done. And we'll continue to uh again police these things as best we can. We need every member of Congress on both sides of the aisle to act appropriately and according to the dignity of their office. It's a small ask. And I 99% of the people around here do that every day. Uh those that don't will face disciplinary action and we're going to we're going to police our own.

[00:35:46]We'll do that. Thank you all so much.

[00:35:48]>> Thank you.

[00:36:08]trying to keep on the clock and make sure this happens well before the end of the fiscal year. So stay tuned for more of that action. We're also turning our attention uh to a big week next week here in Congress. Um, we're going to have a lot of important measures scheduled for floor action. Let me list a couple of them for you. First, our bipartisan housing affordability legislation. This will be landmark legislation that will help increase the supply of housing around the country and bring down the cost. It's going to help more American families pursue the American dream of home ownership. And I have with me Chairman French Hill, the financial services committee in the House, who's done extraordinary work, again, bipartisan on this, and he'll address that in just a moment. Also on the floor next week, long-awaited legislation, the SCORE Act. This is going to support student athletes and the educational mission of college athletics. Really important, critical stuff to get the NIL kind of madness under control. And Congress is stepping up to lead on that and we're happy to do it. And finally, the reconciliation 2.0 legislation uh which has been developing now to fully fund the immigration enforcement and border protection for 3 years through the rest of the Trump administration. And I will say this is despite incredibly despite Democrat and to enforce federal immigration law to keep your streets and communities safe.

[00:37:24]It's unbelievable to us, but that's where it is. Republicans have to do it on our own and we will do that next week and finally get that done. Once again, despite constant skepticism around here from the press that uh we can't perform, we are getting it done. We get it done every week. Um sometimes it's a slow process, but we check the boxes and we're delivering for the American people. Promises made, promises kept.

[00:37:45]With that, I'll turn it over to Chairman Hill for the latest on the housing bill.

[00:37:49]>> Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank all of you for being with us this morning. Next week on the suspension calendar, we'll bring the uh House amendments to the Senate passed housing bill. This has been a collaborative effort since the 118th Congress between Senator Scott and myself to bring a housing bill that's supply sideoriented that'll increase the accessibility of housing and also the affordability of housing. This is a key uh uh I'd say goal of House and Senate Republicans and it's obviously a key goal of President Trump because he talked about it in the spa State of the Union and this bill has a provision in it that meets his request that we limit institutional investors from being out there competing with Mary and John in their attempt to buy a house. This is in the bill. It's in the bill in the right way. I think it removes some of the legal challenges that we felt that were in the structure of the Senate bill. We think this has made a better bill. And I want to say uh thanks to Senator Scott and his team working over the last few months. Congratulate him also on the Clarity Act which voted out of the Senate Banking Committee with a bipartisan vote last uh yesterday. This is a very important priority also for President Trump and House and Senate Republicans. And so we look forward to a good vote that will advance housing affordability, howing housing accessibility, help our American families in all 50 states, and also accomplish President Trump's goal of limiting institutional investors ability to compete against our moms and dads who are out trying to buy a house.

[00:39:19]>> Thank you. Couple questions, >> speaker, uh, yesterday the House defeated an Iran world powers resolution, but there were two new Republicans that voted for it. Are you confident that you can keep feeding back these types of >> Yes. Look, Iran is in a we're not having kinetic activity right now as we would say. Um the president has declared operation epic fury uh to have concluded and now we're working on the next project which is getting the straight of Hormuz open. Uh we don't expect uh that to be a warfare activity so to speak. So we've got to allow the administration time to negotiate these things. The president has been doing that in earnest. The difficulty, as they've articulated in the White House, is that you got to make sure you're negotiating with the right parties and it's taken Iran some time because the top layers of leadership were taken out um to to make sure the the right people with the right authority are at the table. So, that's been the complicating factor. I do know that our allies and our neighbors and friends are around the world and most recently in the discussion the president had with Xi in China just in the last couple of days, um everyone has an interest in the street being reopened for commerce. So, you're going to have, I think, international partners who assist with that. We think it comes to a conclusion soon. And I don't think uh Congress needs to get in the way of the administration as they finish what is now a negotiation instead of a a military conflict. That's the way we see it. So, we'll see how that goes.

[00:40:34]>> The health ethics committee confirmed its investigation to uh Congressman Edwards. Has there been a conversation about addressing uh potentially the onboarding process for these congressmen considering there's been two resignations over similar allegations?

[00:40:49]Well, look, the two resignations were all these are individualized and special cases. They're different facts, different scenarios, different circumstances. And in the case of Swallwell, I mean, there was a long pattern of abuses that apparently everybody on Capital New Hill knew about except me. Uh, and and it was right for him to resign. Uh, in the case of Tony Gonzalez, I mean, there was a long uh really detailed due process investigation through ethics um the ethics committee and he made a determination to step down. That was the appropriate thing as well. I am very consistent, intellectually consistent in every way. No matter you're whether you're talking about a Republican or a Democrat, everyone is due due process.

[00:41:25]If an allegation is made against someone, that is not reason for expulsion or disciplinary action. People get a chance to present their case.

[00:41:32]That's what the House Ethics Committee is all about. It's a process that has worked for a long, long time in this chamber. It's a very active committee right now. I'll concede that to you. But we've got to get on top of this. Now, you know, this week we now announced a new uh bipartisan measure. I'm really proud of this effort. It's probably long overdue, but uh myself and Democratic leader Hakee Jeff both um have u endorsed this and and set it in place.

[00:41:56]So, you have the Republicans Women's Caucus and the Democratic Women's Caucus working together in a in a partnership as they like to call it to work through the issues of misconduct of members with staff to make sure that in particular here, especially female staff members who work on Capitol Hill are comfortable and safe. And there needs to be better reporting mechanisms perhaps on on uh uh you know when lines are crossed. We're going to police that very carefully.

[00:42:21]We're going to make sure that this is the safest place in America to work as it should be. And so looking forward to that group and and the the productive ideas that come out of that and I'm really proud that that's a bipartisan effort as it should be. I'll bless it and move that as aggressively as possible and we'll get that uh in place so it'll help solve the problem.

[00:42:37]>> As you laid out your legislative agenda, we know that there's a packed calendar coming up. You always have your narrow majority in the back of your mind. Next week, all eyes are going to be on Kucky's fourth congressional district.

[00:42:50]Who do you believe right now is the best person to coalesce around the conference to deliver on those priorities, particularly in the president's second term? Well, I watch all the the U primaries very carefully, of course, and the speaker is in charge of the whole map and and we're going to keep and grow this majority uh in this cycle, and I'm absolutely convinced, especially after the redistricting uh changes to the map.

[00:43:12]Uh we we feel very very bullish about this. So, we're going to run right through the tape. I'm not going to get engaged in these individual primaries.

[00:43:18]We see how it uh sorts out. But uh we're going to have a great crop of people. We recruited extraordinary candidates this cycle on the Republican side. I mean, great Americans who are going to come here and serve uh faithfully and patriotically. and we're looking forward to that new class coming in. Yes, ma'am.

[00:43:31]>> On foreign policy, should President Trump have been more committal when it comes to Taiwan during his visit to China?

[00:43:39]>> I haven't seen the I've been really busy last couple days, so I haven't seen the exact readout on on how that discussion went. I've heard him heard a couple little comments offhand of what he said.

[00:43:48]He feels like they had a very productive meeting. They talked about some really important issues, and I'm awaiting uh to sit down with him and go through it in detail. We had an exchange text last night, but um he's on the way back now, I think. And um we'll sit down and go through it. We'll find out. Look, we've always been concerned and we've made America's interest very clear our position on Taiwan. Um they need to be stay independent and secure there and we have an interest in that as everybody around the world because of chip manufacturing and other reasons there.

[00:44:16]I'm sure they discussed that, but I don't know the details of it because I haven't talked to the president yet. So, one more. Yes. The House Ethics Chair Michael Chest says his committee needs more resources to move voters more quickly through his committee. Will you give ethics committee more resources?

[00:44:28]>> Well, that's first I've heard of it. I mean, obviously, we'll dedicate whatever resources are necessary to ensure the House ethics committee does its job as um as it should and I would concede and he has had a great challenge. The chairman of ethics committee uh that committee is very busy right now.

[00:44:42]There's lots of allegations flying around. So, we we'll make sure that they have everything they need to get the job done and we'll continue to uh again police these things as best we can. We need every member of Congress on both sides of the aisle to act appropriately and according to the dignity of their office. It's a small ask and I 99% of the people around here do that every day. Uh those that don't will face disciplinary action and we're going to we're going to police our own. We'll do that. Thank you all so much.

[00:45:05]>> Thank you.

[00:45:25]trying to keep on the clock and make sure this happens well before the end of the fiscal year. So stay tuned for more of that action. We're also turning our attention uh to a big week next week here in Congress. Um, we're going to have a lot of important measures scheduled for floor action. Let me list a couple of them for you. First, our bipartisan housing affordability legislation. This will be landmark legislation that will help increase the supply of housing around the country and bring down the cost. It's going to help more American families pursue the American dream of home ownership. And I have with me Chairman French Hill, the financial services committee in the House, who's done extraordinary work, again bipartisan on this, and he'll address that in just a moment. Also on the floor next week, long-awaited legislation, the SCORE Act. This is going to support student athletes and the educational mission of college athletics. Really important, critical stuff to get the NIL kind of madness under control. And Congress is stepping up to lead on that and we're happy to do it. And finally, the reconciliation 2.0 legislation uh which has been developing now to fully fund the immigration enforcement and border protection for 3 years through the rest of the Trump administration. And I will say this is despite incredibly despite Democrat opposition. Think of it. They do not want to give $1 to secure your border and to enforce federal immigration law to keep your streets and communities safe. It's unbelievable to us, but that's where it is. Republicans have to do it on our own. We will do that next week and finally get that done. Once again, despite constant skepticism around here from the press that uh we can't perform, we are getting it done.

[00:46:59]We get it done every week. Um, sometimes it's a slow process, but we check the boxes and we're delivering for the American people. Promises made, promises kept. With that, I'll turn it over to Chairman Hill for uh the latest on the housing bill.

[00:47:12]>> Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank all of you for being with us this morning. Next week on the suspension calendar, we'll bring the uh House amendments to the Senate passed housing bill. This has been a collaborative effort since the 118th Congress between Senator Scott and myself to bring a housing bill that's supply sideoriented that'll increase the accessibility of housing and also the affordability.