Mike Johnson defends Trump's aggressive start, declaring 'everything is on the table'
Jan. 28, 2025, 3:00 AM GMT+5
DORAL, Fla. — House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., defended President Donald Trump’s slew of controversial executive orders and actions Monday, calling it a “new moment to re-evaluate everything the federal government does" and saying, "Everything is on the table."
Addressing Trump’s decision over the weekend to fire 18 inspectors general at various federal agencies, Johnson said: “Sometimes you need a fresh look.” Pressed by NBC News about Trump’s aggressive migrant deportations, Johnson said that voters gave Trump a “mandate to fix this problem” and that “everyone can take a deep breath.”
And about Trump’s recent comments that the Federal Emergency Management Agency needs to be overhauled or perhaps eliminated, Johnson, whose home state, Louisiana, has a long history of hurricane damage, pointed to “frustration” with FEMA leadership and said, “The president is right to assess that.”
Johnson also said he supported Trump’s recent statement that California should not receive wildfire disaster aid unless it adopts voter ID laws. It is a “commonsense notion,” he said.
“Something has changed because there is a new sheriff in town,” Johnson told reporters shortly before Trump addressed House Republicans here at their annual issues conference at Trump Doral National, his golf club and resort in Miami.
“I think we are entering a new era of government. And that is when the president says he wants to make the government more efficient and effective and we say we want to limit the size and scope of government, it means that everything is on the table for reevaluation,” Johnson continued, flanked by his GOP leadership team.
“This is a new moment for us to re-evaluate everything that the federal government does. And FEMA is in crosshairs,” he said.