• 7 months ago
At a House Republican press briefing on Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) spoke about supporting law enforcement.

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Transcript
00:00 (applause)
00:02 - Thank you all so much for being here.
00:04 It is an important day.
00:05 I do want to thank Sheriff Bianco.
00:07 Your words are very inspiring, Sheriff,
00:09 and the National Fraternal Order of Police President Yoes
00:12 for his words.
00:14 And of course, our dear friends,
00:15 as Steve pointed out, our colleagues here
00:17 who have worn the badge.
00:19 Clay Higgins and Pete Stauber and Anthony D'Esposito
00:22 and Mike Eazell and others in our conference
00:24 who have served in many capacities
00:26 and we're delighted that they're here now.
00:28 You see behind us standing here,
00:29 others who have worn the badge,
00:30 who have stood on that thin blue line
00:32 and put their lives on the line for everybody else.
00:34 And so we honor, we do this every day.
00:36 We look for new ways, the House Republicans,
00:39 to stand with law enforcement.
00:40 We stand with the men and women in blue.
00:43 We stand with all of our sheriffs and police officers,
00:46 our border patrol agents, our law enforcement officers
00:49 across the board in every capacity
00:51 because they are doing the hard thing.
00:53 They are doing the often difficult thing.
00:55 Increasingly, it is a difficult calling and vocation.
00:59 Today is Peace Officers Memorial Day, of course.
01:02 And so, as was mentioned earlier,
01:03 we pay tribute to all those
01:05 who out of that selfless sacrifice
01:07 have paid the ultimate price.
01:08 They've given their lives for our safety
01:11 and they have laid down their lives for others.
01:13 And that is the greatest blessing of all.
01:15 26,000 officers have died in the line of duty,
01:18 56 in America just this year alone.
01:21 And these officers exemplify the American spirit.
01:24 They are the best of us,
01:25 the best in every city and community.
01:27 They have pledged their own lives and their sacred honors
01:30 so that others may live in peace.
01:32 And we honor that.
01:33 And that's a biblical admonition
01:35 to give honor where honor is due,
01:37 especially on a week and on a day like this.
01:40 And this week, we pay tribute to those
01:42 who do clothe themselves with that dignity and decency
01:44 and who stand on the lines of justice and keep us safe.
01:47 So as Leader Scalise mentioned,
01:49 we'll be passing legislation on the floor
01:51 to make that clear
01:53 and to do everything we possibly can
01:54 to celebrate those officers
01:56 and to protect those who protect all of us.
01:59 And oftentimes it's a thankless job, as you know,
02:01 as has been mentioned today,
02:03 there are many people, too many people,
02:04 and often some elected officials in Washington
02:07 who have given voice to this idea
02:09 that we should defund the police
02:10 or have anti-police legislation or policy.
02:13 It's absolute madness.
02:15 And we are now seeing the completely foreseeable
02:18 results of that in communities around the country
02:21 with crime off the charts, violent crime rising,
02:25 and all of these problems with the open border,
02:26 all of it related together.
02:27 And the common denominator in all of it
02:31 is a disrespect for law and order,
02:33 as was mentioned earlier, for the rule of law.
02:35 And that is something that we have to maintain.
02:37 An FBI report just yesterday
02:39 has reported that the rate of assaults
02:41 on law enforcement officers in America
02:43 is at a 10-year high.
02:45 We have got to reverse that.
02:47 As the sheriff said earlier,
02:48 we've got to make crimes criminal again.
02:51 I mean, it's just common sense.
02:54 And I think everybody in the country
02:55 who looks at this objectively understands it.
02:57 Anybody who's not involved
02:59 in the radical, woke, progressive left
03:01 understands clearly that you gotta maintain the peace.
03:05 We are, this week on the House floor,
03:06 we'll be voting, for example,
03:07 other legislation to expand the concealed carry rights
03:10 of qualified police officers.
03:12 How many of you understand that
03:14 when the good guys are armed,
03:16 the bad guys do less harm, right?
03:19 We're gonna address anti-police attacks,
03:21 protect law enforcement in the line of duty,
03:22 support the mental health of those who serve
03:25 as police officers,
03:26 and we'll be voting to deport illegal aliens
03:29 who assault law enforcement.
03:31 Boy, we sure hope everybody votes for that one.
03:33 This ought to be easy.
03:35 This ought to be non-controversial.
03:37 And we're gonna make sure that everybody sees
03:39 where all of us in the House stand.
03:41 Our law enforcement officers keep us safe.
03:43 They put their lives on the line to do it,
03:44 and we are forever indebted.
03:46 And these gestures and these pieces of legislation
03:48 that we passed this week is the very least
03:50 that we can do to support them.
03:52 With that, we'll take a few questions.
03:54 Front row.
03:55 - So, I mean, the DOJ has been stonewalling on some--

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