When Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) assumed his post as House Speaker, the first speech he gave was at last year’s RJC Annual Leadership Summit.
This year, he again addressed the convention, though via satellite, as he is currently in Italy attending a G7 Speakers summit.
Johnson began his 10-minute speech on Thursday by calling out Iran and bashing the Biden administration for even considering resuming talks on the 2015 nuclear deal (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA), which the Trump administration broke away from in 2018. Negotiations with Iran through European countries marked the first 18 months of the Biden administration until Tehran walked away from and renewed its efforts for a nuclear weapon.
“Iran must be dealt with forcefully,” he said.
He also criticized the Biden administration for delaying arms shipments to Israel during its now 11-month-old war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip and for withholding certain ones—namely, 2,000-pound bombs.
He then addressed rising antisemitism in the United States, highlighting the increase of Jew-hatred on college campuses. He said that the House is “rolling up their sleeves” to combat such hate.
Johnson concluded his speech by calling out members of the Biden administration, specifically Kamala Harris, for not attending Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress in July.
He reassured the audience of hundreds that whatever happens come November, “you will always have a strong ally in this speaker,” he said.