Johnson to Press Corps on Reconciliation: 'You're Aiding and Abetting the Spreading of Misinformation'

The big focus on Capitol Hill this week is, of course, the reconciliation package. Congressional Republicans have a challenging obstacle course to find their way through to get President Donald Trump's "big beautiful bill" across the finish line, and they know it.

As we reported earlier, one hurdle was surmounted by the House Ways and Means Committee as they shepherded the tax portion of the bill out of committee early Wednesday morning following a marathon session.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Republican leaders also held a press conference on Wednesday to give an update on their progress — and to remind the Hill press corps that they're part of the problem:

🚨SPEAKER JOHNSON: "This'll be one of the most consequential pieces of legislation EVER PASSED by the United States Congress."

"It is large. It is comprehensive." pic.twitter.com/Gec0SBGARa
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 14, 2025

Johnson began by affirming that despite the challenges, they are on target to hit their goals, both in terms of what's in the package and the timing of it:

"Let me just talk about reconciliation real quick. Look, this is...the bill is coming together, as you’ve heard. The last three committees are reporting out today. Everybody in this room, I know, gets...fixated on a few final details about all this, but I think it’s important to just state one more time what we are achieving through reconciliation.
"This will be one of the most consequential pieces of legislation ever passed by the United States Congress. It is large, it is comprehensive, and it deals with reconciling the budget in a way that will be fiscally responsible. We’re gonna slash taxes, including on tips, overtime, Social Security for seniors, and job creators, restore American energy dominance, as you’ve heard, secure our border, and deport illegal aliens. We’re gonna eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse, return to peace through strength, and reduce spending, all at the same time.
"And I put reconciliation on an aggressive timetable back in January. I said that we would try to do this as quickly as possible. We’re still on target to hit that Memorial Day deadline, which people balked at when we first said it. The American people are counting on us to get this done and get it done quickly, and we are on target to do it."

Johnson then pointed to both former President Biden and the Democrats as creating problems — and perpetuating them.

"President Biden left virtually every area of public policy in disrepair, and it is incumbent upon Congress to fix it and pass laws that cannot be easily undone or overwritten. We’re working around the clock to build that consensus, to get 218 votes, and deliver on President Trump's America First agenda so the American people can really begin to feel relief.
"And as we’re working to get this done, House Democrats are working overtime to deceive the American people about this. We've discussed it already this morning, but they’re not talking about what the bill actually does. They’re using talking points that are pretty stale. They’re not afraid to lie about what’s in it, and we’re not afraid to tell the truth about what the Democrats are doing.
"They’ve already been forced to take down their advertisements because they were filled with falsehoods about what the bill supposedly was gonna have in it. You probably saw last week — they're at it again — they released a CBO "report," so-called, that claims that our legislation cuts many millions of Americans out of Medicaid. It's obviously, demonstrably false. Other outlets have reported this, okay? They included policies that are not even in the legislation. How could they have done that? Because they released the report before the bill text was even issued...and the media ran with that, okay?"

And here, Johnson turned his attention squarely on the press:

"And I’m just gonna say this to my friends in the media, on the Hill press corps in particular, right? If you...allow Democrats to make these intentionally false claims without pushback, then you’re aiding and abetting in the spread of misinformation. I’m stating the obvious — the job is to get the facts out there, so we hope you will.
"We said repeatedly — we are protecting Medicaid for the people who need and deserve it. This program is an essential lifeline for our most vulnerable Americans — pregnant women, single mothers, low-income seniors, the disabled — that’s who Medicaid is intended to be for, and that’s who we’re protecting while we’re eliminating fraud, waste, and abuse to improve Medicaid. These are reforms to restore and preserve the system so that it doesn’t collapse on itself. That means ensuring illegal aliens don’t get coverage meant for Americans in need. It means implementing work requirements to ensure that adults who can work but refuse to cannot keep cheating the system. We’re gonna continue to call this out, and we’re gonna put the facts out there, and the people are gonna be able to judge it for themselves."

Johnson and other congressional Republicans need to keep pounding this message and calling out the Democrats' lies — and the press corps' eagerness to run with them. Getting this package put together and passed by Memorial Day is an extraordinarily tall order, but Johnson appears determined on this. And so far, he's demonstrated an uncanny ability to accomplish what he sets out to do.

Editor's Note: President Trump is leading America into the "Golden Age" as Democrats try desperately to stop it.

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