Americans for Prosperity Hosts House Speaker Mike Johnson for Congressional Conversation
Speaker Johnson Outlines Conservative Principles, Path Forward on Reconciliation
Washington, DC— Americans for Prosperity (AFP) hosted House Speaker Mike Johnson for a conversation today that was streamed to over 70 live watch parties across AFP’s 50-state grassroots network and attended by top activists from across the country at AFP’s Freedom Embassy on Capitol Hill.
The conversation moderated by Fox News Contributor and AFP Advisory Council Member Guy Benson spotlighted the Speaker’s conservative principles, his plan for budget reconciliation, and the path forward on renewing President Trump’s tax cuts before they expire this year.
WATCH: “A Discussion on Conservative Principles and Budget Reconciliation with the Speaker of the House”
In January, AFP launched a major $20 million campaign calling on Congress to renew President Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) – the largest effort to date by any group to support President Trump’s second-term agenda.
AFP’s President and Chief Executive Officer Emily Seidel opened the conversation by emphasizing the importance of swiftly advancing a reconciliation bill that will include tax policy as the first step toward renewing President Trump’s historic tax cuts and preventing unwanted tax hikes for millions of Americans.
Seidel highlighted AFP’s gratitude to Speaker Johnson for fighting for fiscal responsibility and the values that keep America strong. Seidel said:
“At AFP, we strive to bring principled solutions to the biggest policy challenges facing our country today. We do that by also bringing the voices of the American people to back up those solutions. The work that we do in grassroots communities around the country to engage and mobilize concerned citizens to have their voices heard in public policy debates on the most important issues.
“We’ve been doing this for 20 years and over the course of those 20 years, there has been one thing that has been consistent. When public policy is characterized by core principles, you get pretty good policy, and you get tremendous results for the American people: more freedom and more opportunity to live the American dream.”
Speaker Johnson shared a personal look at his path to Congress and how he became Speaker, why he thinks Republicans won in the last election cycle, and the principles he thinks are at the core of what it means to be a conservative. Johnson said:
“To me, conservative thought boils down to individual freedom, limited government, the rule of law, peace through strength, fiscal responsibility, free markets, and human dignity. That, to me, is the essence of who we are as Americans. There’s a reason American is the greatest country in the history of the world. It’s because we are based on those founding principles, and we don’t want to lose sight of them as things change in our modern era.”
Speaker Johnson also outlined how House Republicans are putting the core principles of conservatism into action to advance key components of President Trump’s agenda during the reconciliation process:
“My calendar has us passing this by probably the first week of April and getting it to the Senate so they can do their work on it. If this works, we get it to the President’s desk by early May. That would be enough time for this to become part of the law, to give the certainty that everyone needs and for the American people to begin seeing the benefit…”
Speaker Johnson also shared how Americans across the country can make their voices heard on the importance of renewing President Trump’s tax cuts before they expire:
“This organization does it better than anyone. I remember fondly the work of AFP when I was a legislator in Louisiana… AFP got directly involved at the grassroots level and did some of the most effective mailers I’ve ever seen.”
“The grassroots component of this is critical. What you can do is what AFP does so well – let your elected officials in Washington know how you feel about this. Let House and Senate members know that this is important.”
AFP is the nation’s unparalleled leader in advancing limited government principles through grassroots engagement. For more than 20 years, AFP has championed core American values of limited government through education and activation at the local, state, and federal level. In 2023 and 2024, AFP and AFP Action made more than 30 million voter contacts — by far the largest effort in the country to advance the freedom movement not led by any party or lawmaker.
Click HERE for a snapshot of how AFP is putting the principles that Speaker Johnson articulated into action all across the country.
