New House speaker makes first public appearance at Republican Jewish event

Newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson made his first public appearance as the leader of Congress’ lower chamber late Saturday at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership summit in Las Vegas, where he gave a message of unity in the House and support for Israel.

“We’ve had three weeks of turmoil in the House and certainly these weeks of unrest around the globe, but we have emerged even stronger,” Johnson said. “And we are united in the cause before us.”

His election came on the heels of a prolonged, nearly three-week stalemate among House Republicans that stalled legislative operations. Johnson’s first test will be to get the House back up and running as a Nov. 17 deadline looms to avoid a government shutdown. And it comes as Israel seeks to wipe out Hamas following the terrorist group’s Oct. 7 attack that killed more than 1,400 people and took more than 200 people hostage.

Johnson received criticism from Nevada’s House Democrats, who called him too extreme, citing his anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage record.

The Louisiana representative said the House is back in business and that this is the moment to restore trust.

One of the first items of business the House passed under Johnson’s leadership was a resolution condemning Hamas and supporting Israel, and next week the House will vote on a resolution to condemn antisemitism on college campuses, according to House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who introduced Johnson at the event at The Venetian.

The House will work to block Iranian oil from being sold and will give funding to Israel to help it rebuild the Iron Dome, the Israeli air defense system, Scalise said.

“We’re going to stand like a rock with our friend and ally, Israel,” Johnson said.

Johnson told the audience it was not an accident that his first action as speaker was a resolution in support of Israel, and that his first visit was with the Republican Jewish Coalition, where the audience gave him a standing ovation.

“Your House Republican Congress is stepping into the breach,” he said. “We are going to lead with principled leadership. We are grounded in truth and we’re going to articulate all these things with clarity and conviction like you have not seen in a long time.”

The United Nations’ General Assembly approved a nonbinding resolution Friday calling for a “humanitarian truce” in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, which controls the Palestinian territory.

“There will be a ceasefire only when Hamas ceases to be a threat to Israel,” Johnson said, receiving a lot of applause from the audience.

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com.