Also, Brendan Duke of the Center for American Progress talks with us about President Joe Biden's economic record and legacy.
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Everyone, thanks for being here today.
This week...
We are bringing to the floor the Service Member Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act, otherwise known, of course, as the NDAA.
This bill both invests in the quality of life for our service members and their families and strengthens our national security capabilities.
Those two aspects are what drove the negotiations and the effort for this entire bill, the quality of life of our service members and our national security capabilities.
The NDAA supports the deployment of the National Guard to our southern border, deters China, combats anti -Semitism.
We're good to go.
America is back.
That was the message heard around the world following President -elect Donald Trump's successful trip to Paris over the weekend.
Watching America reassert its leadership on the global stage was both refreshing and reassuring.
It's clear that the world has been anticipating the return of a U .S. president who can, at the very least, stay fully engaged during important discussions.
Already the impact of President Trump's leadership is being felt.
41 days before he is set to be inaugurated, he has restored respect for our country on the world stage.
This comes in stark contrast to the weak -kneed leadership Americans have been forced to endure under the Harris -Biden administration over the last four years.
From their disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal to Russia's invasion of Ukraine to Iran and its proxies' attacks against Israel.
We've seen what happens when we have leaders in the White House whose foreign policy strategy is to appease our adversaries and undermine our allies.
Thankfully, on November 5th, the voters said enough is enough.
The path forward under President Trump is quite clear.
Thank you, Whip.
This week, our members have been working for months on bringing to the floor Wednesday the National Defense Authorization Act.
As Blake pointed out, this is a bill that's really focused on improving the quality of life for our service men and women.
We've seen under the last three and a half years of the Biden -Harris administration, it's been hard to recruit and keep good service members in part because of the bad woke policies,
the loss of focus by this administration on what the mission is.
And we started addressing that by rooting out more of the woke policies over at...
We're good to go.
We're good to go.
I think?
I think?
Under the failed Biden -Harris policies.
But we also talked about what we'd do to stabilize tax policy to prevent a massive $4 .5 trillion tax increase, which Kamala Harris wanted to impose.
She actually campaigned bragging that she would allow tax cuts to expire, putting a massive tax increase on families.
And so we're already working on what we will do in those first few months.
To deliver on those promises and get our economy back on track to help provide real relief for families who are struggling.
And those talks are going really well, not only amongst House Republicans, House Senate Republicans, but also the Trump administration.
And Trump officials in the transition team have been part of those conversations because we want to make sure the day we start in January, We're good to go.
Thank you, Steve.
Leader, good morning to all of you.
I was here until late last night, about 13 hours ago.
All these seats were filled with We're good to go.
I think?
We're good to go.
I think?
The office is taken.
And as Whip Emmer said, there's a palpable sense out there that this is a new day in America.
It's not just a catchphrase.
We feel that.
We sense it everywhere we go.
And American families are ready to see an America First agenda.
And we're excited about that.
You hear a lot of talk about the agenda and how it will be formulated and come together right out of the gates in early January.
We're working on that right now.
In fact, House Republicans are already working to enact that agenda.
We met, as you know, last week.
We brought...
Thank you very much.
We're good to go.
We're good to go.
That's why we made landmark investments in their quality of life, as you heard, with a 14 .5%.
Thank you.
We supported the deployment of the National Guard at the border, we expanded US joint military exercises with Israel, and we increased funding for US defense initiatives in the Indo -Pacific, and that includes Taiwan.
At the same time, While we plussed up those other accounts, we cut $31 billion in bloated Pentagon bureaucracy, obsolete weapons and inefficient programs.
A lot of that will continue into the new year, and those are some very important innovations.
The safety and security of the American people is our top priority, and this year's NDAA ensures our military has the resources and the capabilities needed to remain the most powerful fighting force on the planet.
We're good to go.
We're good to go.
This is a good time to be thankful and to remember what an extraordinary country we live in and what great promise we have in the new year ahead of us and celebrate together.
So with that, I'll take a few questions.
Yes, ma 'am.
I wanted to ask about the generalized system of preferences.
January 1st, it'll have been gone for four years.
Is this something that leadership still wants to bring back?
And if so, will it go on the suspension calendar early next year, or will it need to wait for all the big bills to move the immigration and the tax reform?
We haven't even had a chance to really address that in any detail, so stay tuned on that when I get back to you.
Yes, ma 'am.
Over here, second row.
Thanks.
The Kids Online Safety Act, I'm just curious, does the updated text, the sewage, the concerns members in your caucus have had about it?
And if not, what is your message to parents who say the government needs to do more to protect their kids from, you know, the harmful effects of social media?
Yeah, look, it's a really important issue as a parent.
We're good to go.
We're good to go.
Thank you.
After yesterday's steering committee meeting, it looks likely that there will be no women as elected committee chairs for the next Congress.
I'm just curious if you think that poses any challenges for the party.
Look, the chairmen of committees are very important positions, but we really do engage all the membership.
We have extraordinary women serving in Congress and in the Republican Conference.
In fact, we elected some really strong women in this upcoming freshman class.
We value those voices, and everybody has an equal say at the table.
And I'm really proud.
I don't think we haven't decided all the committee chairs yet, as you know, so we'll see how this shakes out.
These are thoughtful elections.
We have an embarrassment of riches, frankly.
When you have multiple people running for these gavels, we discussed it yesterday in steering.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Your first year in Congress was 2017, the last time we saw a GOP trifecta.
Republicans spent the large majority of that year focused on repealing Obamacare, and it didn't work out for your party.
You've got to remind me of that, don't you?
Looking ahead to 2025, is there any discussion or debate, or would it be wiser to start with tax cuts, which is a big priority for a number of folks in your conference,
rather than something like border security, which could really run into a lot of problems and get bogged down by the process?
That's a great question, and as you know, we're having lots of thoughtful discussion about the best...
Play calls.
Y 'all have heard me talking about our proverbial playbook we've been developing for about a year.
It's well designed.
And so we have a menu of options.
What we're deciding right now is the sequence of how we run those plays.
And it's really important.
The House and the Senate have different calculations on how that's done.
But we all have exactly the same priorities.
The incoming administration, the Senate Republicans and the House Republicans.
We've got to take care of the border as a top priority.
And we will.
We've got to get the economy going again.
And we will.
Part of that is ensuring that we don't have the largest tax increase in...
We're good to go.
I think?
Thank you all so much.
We're good to go.
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