Emmer: Republicans will work together as a team to deliver for the American people
Washington,
January 22, 2025
WASHINGTON — Majority Whip Tom Emmer joined ABC News Live to discuss President Trump’s triumphant return to the White House and how the House will advance Republicans’ America First agenda in Congress.
Whip Emmer on working with a slim House majority: “Well, people underestimated us, Linsey. By the way, thank you for having me. People underestimated us last Congress. We started with 222. At times, we were down to 221, and at times we'd be even less because we had members who were out for a matter of weeks treating… different ailments, and we managed to accomplish things that most of your viewers probably don't even know about. We passed the strongest border bill in 20 years. We passed the Parental Bill of Rights. We passed a bill to raise the debt ceiling and have permitting reforms, etcetera, that just went over and sat on Chuck Schumer's desk. So, you're asking me how hard it is. It's not hard as long as you work with every single one of our members and you do it upfront. You tell them this is what we're trying to accomplish with Donald J. Trump in the White House. And the fun part about it is they know now that when we pass these things, when we take these heavy lifts and get them out of the House, we're [going to] have… willing… teammate[s] on the Senate side, and we're [going to] be able to get it to the President of the United States for his signature. So, we're all very excited about the opportunity.” Whip Emmer on Congressional leadership’s meeting with President Trump: “The President was great. He's in great spirits. He's energized. He knows what it is that he wants to accomplish. But his message to us was [that] we need to be together. We need to support each other. We need to work as a team to get this stuff done. And I'm so excited to work with John Thune and his Senate Conference, to work with Mike Johnson, our Speaker, and all of our members, and, obviously, to work with President Trump, JD Vance, and the White House. It's [going to] be fun.” Whip Emmer on President Trump’s January 6 pardons: “Well, Linsey, [President Trump] did exactly what he campaigned on. He said what he was going to do when elected, and he was elected by an overwhelming group of Americans. 77 million Americans gave Donald Trump a mandate. He was very transparent on what he was [going to] do on day 1. By the way, totally opposite if we [want to] contrast it with the outgoing president, Joe Biden, who said he would never pardon Hunter, and he did exactly that. And then he went and gave, somehow, a pardon for something that hasn't been convicted to his family members and to Fauci and others. Basically, it was a public admission of corruption in his administration. I think there's a significant contrast.” “Again, the two-tiered justice system that we witnessed, I think people who committed crimes should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law and not beyond that. And what they did is they went too far. This is why President Trump campaigned on this issue, and President Trump simply honored what he said on the campaign trail, unlike his predecessor who did everything he said he would not do and more.” “...A statement I made after this incident [was] that people should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The problem here is, Linsey, they went too far. This two-tiered justice system, they went beyond the full extent of the law. And in fact, they had to be slapped down by higher courts, in some of these cases, for what they were doing. So it's absolutely correct that people who violate the law should be dealt with by the law. But this weaponization of our legal system against certain people, because of their political beliefs, that's what has to end. And that's what America, Republicans, Democrats, and others, voted for on November 5th. They [want to] see us getting back to doing the people's business, and they want justice to be equal for all.” ### |