(NewsNation) — House Speaker Mike Johnson says, while Democrats are in panic mode after Thursday’s debate, “the American people have been in panic for the entirety of the Biden administration.”
Johnson spoke to NewsNation on a wide range of subjects, including the future of President Joe Biden’s reelection effort.
“They don’t really know what their option is,” said Johnson about the possibility of Biden quitting the race. “I don’t think they (Democrats) have a ‘Plan B.’ For us – I mean the American people – I think that’s a good thing.”
Biden said he is not stepping aside as the Democrats’ nominee. “Folks, I give you my word as a Biden, I would not be running again if I didn’t believe with all my heart and soul I can do this job, because quite frankly, the stakes are too high,” Biden said at a rally in Raleigh, N.C. Friday.
At least two Republican lawmakers have called on the cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Biden from office, but Johnson refused to explicitly make that call himself.
“I don’t disagree (with calls for the 25th),” he said. “But it’s not the place of the Speaker of the House to call for it. It falls upon the vice-president and the cabinet to make that determination.”
Section Four of the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says: “Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.”
It also calls for a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate to keep the President out of office and for the Acting President to continue that role should there be disagreement on the president’s ability to resume their duties. Section Four has never been invoked since it was added to the Constitution in 1965.
“I think the cabinet members need to search their own hearts,” said Johnson. “I don’t know what they’ll do, but I know there’s a lot of alarm on the part of the American people.”
Johnson says he is very optimistic about Republican chances in November, and not just to win the White House.
“Everywhere I go, people are fed up,” Johnson said, citing the rising cost of living, crime, the border and what he believes is America’s perceived weakness on the world stage.
“I think President Trump is going to win the White House again. I think we’re going to grow the House majority for the Republican party. And the polling is suggesting that we are going to flip the Senate back to Republican control, as well. And when we do that, we’ll be on track to fix all this.”
“I told President Trump ‘When you get a new term’ – and I believe he will – ‘you can be the most consequential president of the modern era.’ And the new Congress can be the most consequential because we have to fix everything.”
That, Johnson said, includes ending what he labeled the Biden administration’s “war” on the energy industry.
“We’ll turn that back on. We’ll reduce taxes, reduce spending and reduce regulations. The Biden administration as weaponized federal agencies against almost every industry that you can name, and it’s created an existential threat to these industries,” he said.
“We have got to get the American economy humming again,” Johnson added. “And President Trump knows how to do that.”
Johnson also said he will be watching on Monday when the Supreme Court is expected to issue its ruling on presidential immunity.
“I think it’s an important constitutional principle,” he said. “When you’re the executive authority of the whole country, you can’t sit in the oval office and be worried about rogue prosecutors or attorneys bringing charges against you.”