OAN Staff Gabriella Sable
2:00 PM – Tuesday, February 11, 2025
House GOP leadership held a press conference on Tuesday, outlining their efforts to secure the border, eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government, and address key issues in the reconciliation bill. They also emphasized the need to codify aspects of President Donald Trump’s executive orders.
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Chairwoman of the Conference, Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) began by revealing that the House will reintroduce a bill in Agent Raul Gonzalez’s name. He was killed during a high-speed chase near the border in 2022.
“The bills named after him would prevent illegal immigrants who flee border patrol from ever being admitted into the United States,” McClain said. “Officer Gonzalez lost his life in a high-speed chase near the border. He was chasing fleeing illegal immigrants.”
“Let me be clear, illegal immigrants who flee border patrol should never get a green card,” McClain continued. “This bill sends a message to illegal aliens, drug traffickers and smugglers, the bad guys, you threaten American lives and you will face the full consequences of the law. We must protect our law enforcement officers.”
The bill was passed by the 118th Congress but did not make it to the Senate before the end of the term. If a bill does not make it to the Senate before the term expires, it is considered dead and has to be reintroduced.
Congressman Abe Hamadeh (R-Ariz.), who co-sponsored the reintroduced bill, explained that Trump’s strong stance on border security is giving Congress the tools to enact laws to protect communities.
“These high-speed pursuits are not merely statistics,” Hamadeh said. “Criminal, illegal aliens are putting our communities along with law enforcement officers at risk every single day.”
“And now President Trump’s designation of the cartels as their foreign terrorist organization on January 20th, we finally have the tools to treat these barbarians like the terrorists they are,” Hamadeh argued.
Republican House Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) then shifted the focus to D.O.G.E.’s findings on how taxpayer dollars are being spent.
“Through D.O.G.E. millions of wasted and mismanaged taxpayer dollars have already been exposed, countless inefficient and unnecessary government positions have been identified and they are only just beginning,” Emmer said.
“20 million dollars for a Sesame Street show in Iraq,” continued Emmer. “1.5 million to promote LGBT advocacy in Jamaica, 2 million for sex changes and LGBT activism in Guatemala, the list of absurdities bankrolled by hardworking U.S. taxpayers goes on and on, but no more.”
Emmer also asserted that Trump is holding the federal government accountable for how American tax dollars are being spent.
“President Donald Trump is delivering on his promise to shake up the status quo in Washington by ensuring the federal government is accountable to the American people who actually fund it,” Emmer added.
Majority Leader of the House Steve Scalise (R-La.) then outlined the goals Republicans hope to achieve with their reconciliation budget bill.
“Some of the biggest things that President Trump wants to accomplish are included in our reconciliation plan,” Scalise argued. “If you think about it, there are a lot of bills out there, a lot of ideas out there. There’s only one plan that delivers all of the commitments and priorities that President Trump has, and that’s the House plan.”
“If you think about what we’re trying to do with first getting a budget, then getting a reconciliation bill. It’s gonna be to deliver border security, making sure that we can build the wall,” Scalise said.
“Make it sure that we give our border patrol agents the tools they need, night vision goggles,” continued Scalise. “And other technology like drones so that they can more safely and effectively protect and secure America’s border from the massive flow of illegals that we saw the last four years.”
Scalise said the bill would also help America to become energy-dominant again and keep taxes from going up.
“We’re gonna produce more American energy, in the Gulf of America, and every point in between. We’re gonna deliver in that big, beautiful bill more American energy that was shut off by the Biden administration,” Scalise added. “And allow our country to deliver again, not just creating more jobs, not just lowering costs for families at the pump and at the grocery store, which it will do, but allowing us to be energy independent again and help our allies around the world again.”
“And then we’re gonna ensure that there are no Americans that see a tax increase,” Scalise continued. “It’s a new day in the Senate and Senator Thune and his majority are going to bring that bill to the floor when we send it over to him and that will have a really good chance of getting to President Trump’s desk.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) spoke last and expressed the need to codify some of the executive actions Trump has put in place.
“People feel this great sense of excitement, this anticipation, this energy because President Trump is delivering on his promises,” said Johnson. “He’s delivering on the agenda, and they know that we are as well. And so a lot of the things that are being done through the executive branch are going to be codified in the house and we’re working methodically to make sure all that is possible.”
“There was a new CBS poll that came out that said seven and ten Americans believe President Trump is doing what he said he would do. And that’s promises made, promises kept,” Johnson argued.
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