Speaker Johnson speaks at a House Republican Leadership Press Conference. 9/1/2026

Thank you, Leader Scalise. It's good to see you all. Welcome back. We, of course, had all the members out, fanned out across the country. House Republicans worked really hard during the annual August district work period, had some really productive time with their constituents and the people they represent. It's a really important part of the job, obviously, to be out and be with and among our constituents. It's so valuable to the members, and it makes us all better advocates for the families and the workers and the communities we represent here in our nation's capital. We just had our weekly meeting with all the House Republicans, and there's a great feeling amongst the body, because the House Republicans have gotten great feedback back in the districts that have worked really hard, and they see that the people understand that the stakes are so high in what we're doing right now, and that the fateful midterm election is now just 63 days away from us. I spent time back in my beloved home state of Montana. I met with business owners and farmers and local leaders in my district, and I have heard the same sentiment from where I come from. And then throughout the month, I took those conversations on the road, went to every corner and pocket of America. In total, I went to over 54 cities and over 75 campaign events and countless meetings with groups and individuals. Over the time, I think 71 different members and candidates were joining me at some point along the way. I joined them. We were across 18 states overall. So from Alaska to Albuquerque to the Great Lakes down to the Rio Grande Valley, everywhere in between, literally, we were everywhere. And our team of common-sense conservative candidates heard from parents and workers and small business owners and retirees on the issues that matter most. And I'll restate what I told the voters in all those cities I went to. It's 54 cities. We are going to, listen to what I'm telling you, right? I've been saying this over and over, but Republicans are going to defy history. In 63 days, we're going to hold this House of Commons. And that's for a simple reason, because the American people recognize the historic stakes of this, and they really do understand that this is a contrast election. We've been saying that for months. It's not a contract with America here. We did that in 2024. We kept our promise. This is a contrast for America here. Let's summarize it. It's a contrast between common-sense and racism, and now common-sense and communism. Every election is a battle for the future of the country, obviously. And, you know, people are apt to say, this election is supposed to support one of our lifetimes. But more than any election in my lifetime, I genuinely believe that the people see this year is different. 2026 is different. This is going to be a midterm, unlike any other. The question that voters across the nation have to answer this fall is whether we're going to turn the greatest nation in the history of the world over to communism and big-government socialism as radical Democrats insist, or whether we're going to maintain our status as a constitutional republic, the great nation, the grand experiment of self-government that's built on our foundational principles like individual freedom, unlimited opportunity, and human dignity and the rule of law. That's what we stand for. That's what Republicans stand for. That's what we'll always stand for. That's what we're doing and advancing here every day. If you're like most Americans, the battle comes down to a simple question. Really, at the end of the day, which policies are going to be better for my family? That is the question. Do American families want a return to rampant inflation, the record of crime, the record of immigration that we had under Democratic governance, or do they want to continue the restoration of common sense? Do they want to continue having safer communities? Do they want to continue greater affordability that's already underway under Republican government? We have a lot more to do, but this is the team we must keep in place to continue to Republicans understand, as Ronald Reagan did, that the answer to our woes is not more government. It is less. And that's the principle that we answer every day as well. The American people demand and deserve government that works better for them. Republicans have spent the 119th Congressional Report on Policies aimed at doing exactly that. You've heard a little bit of a summary of what we've accomplished. I have been saying for months, and now the objective data verifies, as the study is showing here, this has literally been the most productive and successful Congress since 1949. And I think it's in the top five of all time. We delivered, just in the last little over a year and a half here, the largest middle and working class tax cut in American history, and also prevented the biggest tax hike in American history that would have happened by the fall of last December had we not accomplished our mission. We delivered the lowest violent crime rate in 126 years. The lowest level of illegal border crossings in half a century. A tax advantaged investment account for every American child. The first ever nationwide school choice program. The biggest decrease in prescription drug prices in over 60 years. We doubled the child tax credit. We have iconic companies like Ford and Toyota, General Motors, reshoring production and bringing jobs back home to communities across America. By way of reminder, Democrats in this Congress voted against every single thing I just said. This is R's versus D's on policy. And now the D's are being taken over by the top. These are just a few examples of the many positive and transformational outcomes of common sense Republican governance, and we look forward to continuing that good work for the remainder of this year and beyond. As I like to say all the time, it is record over rhetoric. We're confident American voters are going to remember that when they head to vote this fall. Ronald Reagan used to remind us all the time to trust America. When they have the facts, they will make the right decision. And he also reminded us, and I've been apt to repeat this on the campaign trail everywhere I went over the last 30 days or so, that freedom is never more than one generation. It cannot pass along to another. It has to be fought. It has to be protected. It has to be fought and passed along to the next generation so they too will have the same liberty and opportunity and security that we've known. And frankly, too often, too many Americans take this for granted. We cannot take this for granted. As I've said, the barbarians are now inside the gates. By our count, there's over 40 openly about Marxism, Communism, Socialism. They're all in the same camp. Marxism, you understand, in Marxism, Socialism is a step to get to Communism. Communism, Marx thought, would be the utopia of American society. He's absolutely, deadly wrong. We started a website while we were out on the trail a few weeks ago. It's contrastforamerica.com. Contrastforamerica.com, you can see the history of Socialism, Marxism, Communism. Everywhere it's been tried, it leads to human suffering and famine and misery. It also leads to death. In fact, Communism has been the result of the murder of tens of millions of innocent people in the 20th century alone. It is built upon the wrong premises. It begins with the premise that there is no God, for example. In America, it's one nation under God. That has been the secret, the foundational truth of why we have stood for all three principles and why we have been a great nation. We are not going to go down that road. And we have almost 40 of these people who have won elections. They've won these Democrat primaries in these blue states and districts and other places as well. At the congressional level in the United States. This is a serious threat to us. This isn't a flash in the pan. This isn't a New York City problem. There are many mob donnies popping up all around America. I've been saying it for months now. So we must defeat them. But here's the reality. Some of these crazy Democrats, these Marxists, Socialists, Communists who have won these primaries are going to win in these deep blue districts. And they're coming to the people's house. They will be raising their hand to take an oath, supposedly to uphold the Constitution when they're out on the campaign trail trashing it, saying they want to rip it in half. They want to abolish the borders. They want to abolish prisons. They want to defund the police. They want to abolish the U.S. Senate. That's kind of an important order they want to mention. They want to remove the President. They want one unicameral body of the House to run everything. Why? Because they have calculated that over two or three cycles they can elect enough Marxists to take the thing over. Then you know what they want to do? They want to take over the means of production. They don't want private property ownership. This is crazy stuff. They want to defund the Department of War. How's that going to go? It's madness. So our job is to defeat them. And I'm so grateful that we have extraordinary candidates that have been recruited across this country. Those 21 or so seats that are going to decide the fate of the Republic, that's the seats that are going to decide the majority, I'm absolutely convinced we can win them. We have better candidates. We have a common-sense message of what we have done with our record, resumes, and people, and our candidates are pointing out the absolute madness that is ensuing on campus. And in contrast to the election, the faithful year of the 250th anniversary of the creation of the New World, I believe the American people are going to do the right thing. So if you're going to see me, there's boundless joy around here. I'm very optimistic about this. This is not just a campaign rhetoric. I've seen it myself. I went to every one of these districts. I've seen the people. The people are not down with communism. I'm glad we're on the right side of this. Now, on to this week. House Republicans are eager to continue our work on the people's business here in Washington. The first and most urgent order of business is to take up the Senate-passed CR. Now, we began this work months ago. Back in the middle part of summer, we passed the CR for government funding, and now the Senate's done it. We're going to avoid the threat of another Democrat shutdown. We know why this is necessary. These great Democrats in Congress don't mind shutting the government down and hurting the American people. We've demonstrated that already three times this Congress for a combined 120 days. That's roughly one-third of the calendar year our federal government went without funding. I don't believe they're going to do that anymore. On this CR, we'll take up and simply hold funding steady at current levels through December 11th, as Republicans work to complete the four-year appropriations process. We've done that work in the House again. Republicans have made remarkable progress towards returning to regular order and restoring the appropriations process the way it's supposed to be, a committee-driven approach, as it should be. Our appropriators have worked very hard to restore that muscle memory, and we are really, really grateful for their work, because that is how you act as a good steward of taxpayer dollars and resources. And we're going to continue all that great work. So with that, I'll take a break.