U.S. House leaders, Senate candidates envision unified GOP government at RNC night two

U.S. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, a Minnesota Republican, speaks during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, July 16, 2024. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

MILWAUKEE — In back-to-back speeches during the second night of the Republican National Convention, the U.S. House Republican leadership team pressed members of the party’s base to help them increase their ranks during November’s elections, promising that a greater Republican majority would lead to more conservative legislation.

The GOP controls a razor-thin margin in the chamber with just seven more seats than Democrats, which has hindered their efforts to enact the laws they feel are essential.

But that could change come January, if voters cast their ballots for Republicans later this year.

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said during his speech Tuesday that the United States had reached a point where differences about the country’s future are no longer a “battle between two opposing political parties.”

“We’re now in the midst of a struggle between two completely different visions of who we are as Americans, and what our country will be,” Johnson said. “The Republican Party stands for the foundational truths that made America the greatest nation in the history of the world.”

The Louisiana Republican said the principles long considered essential are in “serious jeopardy.”

“We’ve come to a moment in America where the basic things we once took for granted are being openly challenged like never before,” he said.

Trump shooting

Johnson also spoke about the attempted assassination of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump over the weekend, when a gunman shot at the former president during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

“Make no mistake, the House is conducting an immediate and thorough investigation of these tragic events,” Johnson said, noting that the process had already started. “The American people deserve to know the truth and we will ensure accountability. I promise you that.”

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, also of Louisiana, recalled his experience seven years ago being shot at the Republican baseball team’s practice ahead of the annual congressional baseball game.

“Many of you know, I was a survivor of a politically motivated shooting in 2017,” Scalise said. “Not many know that while I was fighting for my life, Donald Trump was one of the first to come console my family at the hospital.”

“That’s the kind of leader he is — courageous under fire, compassionate towards others,” Scalise added “Let’s put Donald Trump back in the White House this November so we can Make America Great Again.”

‘When we flip the Senate’

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, of Minnesota, said that “in spite of having one of the smallest majorities in history, House Republicans have held the line.”

He listed off a series of bills that have passed the House since the GOP took control of the chamber in January 2023, though many of the bigger-ticket items have stalled in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

“Get ready because when we grow our majority, when we flip the Senate and when we send President Donald J. Trump back to the White House, we won’t just be holding the line anymore, we’ll be moving forward,” Emmer said. “We will turn America First principles into law.”

Emmer said he was “confident” that the GOP “will make history this November when we turn Minnesota red for the first time in 50 years.”

Minnesota has the longest streak of any state voting for Democratic presidential candidates. The last Republican to win the state was Richard Nixon in 1972.

Senate candidates bash Democratic incumbents

The second night of the convention also featured speeches from a string of Republican politicians hoping to unseat Democrats in toss-up U.S. Senate races.

Tim Sheehy, the Republican seeking to unseat Montana’s Jon Tester, said the Democrat is “a rubber stamp for Biden’s failed presidency and extreme liberal agenda and it’s time to retire them both.”

“We need political outsiders like President Trump to return common sense to our nation,” Sheehy said.

Bernie Moreno, the GOP candidate for the Senate seat in Ohio that’s currently occupied by Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, said it’s time for him to lose reelection.

“Tonight we’ve got a message for failed lifelong politicians like Sherrod Brown and Joe Biden: It’s time to go home,” Moreno said. “A vote for Trump and Moreno is a vote to put America first.”

David McCormick, the Republican nominee for one of Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate seats, criticized Bob Casey, the long-serving Democrat he’s looking to unseat in November.

“My opponent’s name is Bob Casey. But you probably don’t know him because he does nothing,” McCormick said. “For 18 years, Bob Casey has been warming a chair and drawing a paycheck.”

Sam Brown, the GOP’s candidate in Nevada, said during his speech that the economy has become challenging for Americans, arguing that unified Republican control would ease price pressures.

“The Biden-Harris economy might be fine for millionaires like Sen. Jacky Rosen, but it’s terrible for Nevadans struggling with inflation and high prices,” Brown said. “Yet, Jacky and Joe want to raise your taxes while dodging their own.”

Rosen is the Democratic senator seeking reelection in Nevada this November.

Kari Lake, the Republican nominee for the open Arizona Senate seat, gave a speech predominantly about border security while sharply criticizing journalists.

“The Democrats have handed over control of my state, Arizona’s border, to the drug cartels,” Lake said. “And because of them, criminals and deadly drugs are pouring in. And our children are dying.”

Lia Chien contributed to this report.

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