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Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., sat down with Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Thursday night for his first sit-down interview since winning the gavel on Wednesday, answering a variety of questions on foreign policy, legislation, bipartisanship, and Joe Biden.
Rep. Johnson’s stance on hot-button issues like Ukraine funding was a highlighted topic of conversation during the interview, where the new Speaker stated that he believed Ukraine aid and potential funding for embattled Israel needed to be bifurcated.
He noted that while the U.S. wouldn’t “abandon” Ukraine, the House had a responsibility toward “stewardship” of the funding that had been sent overseas to the tune of billions of dollars. He also suggested an audit of Ukraine funding.
He remarked, “What is the objective here? What is the end game with Ukraine?”
Rep. Johnson also posited his thoughts on gun control, where he reiterated a conservative stance, noting that when it came to guns in America, “It’s not the weapon, it’s the underlying problem.”
He urged House Democrats to have faith in his leadership, stating, “Well, I’ve been on the job for 48 hours…give me a chance to lead and you’ll see what I’m really about.”
Rep. Johnson squarely defended his pro-life stances and his convictions about traditional marriage, saying that he was a “rule of law” guy who respected the rule of law in the land. He explained, “I’m a Bible-believing Christian…. go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it – that’s my worldview.”
On the issue of Joe Biden’s observable cognitive decline, Rep. Johnson agreed that there was a problem there. When asked if he saw a cognitive decline in Biden, Johnson replied, “I do…I think most of us do, it’s reality…everyone’s different, everyone ages differently.”
He added, “We cannot project weakness of any kind on the world stage right now…a strong America is good for the whole world.”
Speaker Johnson stated that he hoped that American troops would not end up being deployed to fight in the Middle East amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, agreeing with Hannity that he didn’t trust prospective aid packages from the U.S. to Palestine to be utilized appropriately by authorities there.