Congressional Tribute to Charlie Kirk After Tragic Death Delivered on House Floor by Mike Johnson

[00:00] recognized for one minute.

[00:01] I thank my my dear from friend from

[00:03] Arizona. It's been a a tough time in

[00:05] Arizona and u my colleague Andy Biggs

[00:08] has u done a great job in leading uh

[00:11] people who are shaken and I will say

[00:12] that people all over this country are

[00:14] shaken. Um Mr. Speaker, this has been a

[00:17] um this has been a tough week in the

[00:19] country. I think I've spoken at three or

[00:22] four vigils already. I'll be attending

[00:24] our late friend Charlie Kirk's funeral

[00:26] on Sunday as many of us will to pay our

[00:29] what will be our last respects but the

[00:31] honor of his memory will go on. Um the

[00:35] last week has been difficult because

[00:37] people are shaken by this in a way that

[00:39] we've not seen the country moved in in

[00:42] quite some time. I I've I've described

[00:45] it as if a shadow has been cast a across

[00:48] the country uh by the untimely death of

[00:52] our uh of our dear friend. And the way

[00:53] it was done in such a such a hateful uh

[00:57] heinous manner online for people to view

[00:59] it's it's been disturbing. My heart's

[01:02] gone out in particular to all the

[01:03] students around this country who are so

[01:06] closely associated with Charlie Kirk's

[01:09] organization Turning Point. There were

[01:11] 3,500 plus chapters of Turning Point at

[01:14] universities, college campuses, high

[01:15] school campuses across America. And so

[01:18] many of those students felt personally

[01:20] connected to Charlie because his voice

[01:23] uh resonated with them and it helped

[01:24] inform their worldview and the way they

[01:27] see politics and society. And when he

[01:30] was lost in such an abrupt and tragic

[01:32] manner, they felt it to their core. And

[01:35] I've been so burdened and disturbed for

[01:37] that. I've been praying for all those

[01:38] kids. untold number of young people

[01:40] around the country who are so disturbed

[01:42] and frankly need trauma counseling

[01:43] themselves from what they've just seen

[01:46] and witnessed. So, but in the midst of

[01:48] all this, the thing that encourages me

[01:51] is that I believe in the same promises

[01:53] of scripture that Charlie did. And I've

[01:56] been reminded a lot of the passage of

[01:57] scripture that says the light shines in

[01:59] the darkness and the darkness cannot

[02:02] overcome it. Some some translations of

[02:05] the Bible say the darkness cannot

[02:07] comprehend it. And I think that's true.

[02:10] And what what I've said to all these

[02:12] students and what I've shared in these

[02:13] vigils is is the same refrain.

[02:16] To summarize, the best way to honor the

[02:18] legacy of this singular voice in our

[02:20] culture, not just in the conservative

[02:22] movement, but but in the recent history

[02:24] of America in the last several decades,

[02:27] the best way to honor the the the work

[02:29] and and the legacy and and the ministry

[02:32] of Charlie Kirk is to do what he did and

[02:36] that is to advance the principles that

[02:37] he advanced and to adopt his approach.

[02:41] What I mean by that is the principles

[02:42] that Charlie advanced were the good

[02:44] things. Scripture talks about we focus

[02:46] on the the noble and praiseworthy, the

[02:49] good. And Charlie did that. He focused

[02:52] on things like faith and family and

[02:55] freedom and virtue and honor and

[02:59] patriotism. Charlie believed in America.

[03:02] He believed in the promise of America,

[03:04] in the creed of America, that we're

[03:06] we're we're all made in the image of

[03:08] God, the self-evident truth that God is

[03:12] the one that gives us our rights and not

[03:13] the government. And that those

[03:15] principles are worth fighting for.

[03:17] Charlie used to quote Ronald Reagan, as

[03:19] I do all the time. Reagan reminded us,

[03:20] "Freedom is not inherited in the

[03:22] bloodstream. It has to be fought for and

[03:24] protected and and taught and passed

[03:26] along to the generations that come

[03:28] behind us so that they will know the

[03:30] same liberty and opportunity and

[03:31] security that too many of us have taken

[03:33] for granted too often. And Charlie

[03:35] believed that. So he advanced those

[03:37] principles every single day in every

[03:40] venue that he was able. But he did it in

[03:43] a manner that we should emulate because

[03:46] when I tell the young people that they

[03:48] should adopt uh the practices and the

[03:51] manner adopt the approach of Charlie

[03:52] Kirk, what I mean by that is that he was

[03:55] never motivated by hatred for someone on

[03:57] the other side of that debate. Charlie

[04:00] to the contrary was motivated by love

[04:03] because he believed in what scripture

[04:04] says. There are these three things that

[04:06] remain faith, hope and love. And love is

[04:08] the greatest of all. Love overcomes.

[04:10] love conquers and that's what motivated

[04:13] our friend. And so even though he could

[04:16] defeat anybody in a debate so often and

[04:18] I saw this myself when he would vanquish

[04:21] someone in a policy argument, he was the

[04:23] first person after that to reach out a

[04:25] hand of friendship or offer an arm

[04:28] around the shoulder of someone who who

[04:31] he had just uh defeated in a in a

[04:33] contest. Why? Because it wasn't about

[04:36] winning the policy. It wasn't about at

[04:38] the end of the day really the policy

[04:40] arguments. It was about the people. And

[04:42] Charlie loved vigorous debate. But he

[04:44] loved people more. That is the legacy of

[04:47] our friend. A lot of things have been

[04:49] said about him. And you know, when

[04:51] someone is on the air, when when they're

[04:53] when when they're a ubiquitous voice in

[04:55] all forms of media all the time, 24

[04:58] hours a day, you can go cherrypick one

[05:00] line or phrase or something that they

[05:02] said in a long context or a long

[05:04] discussion, and you can pick anything

[05:06] out and make someone portray them to be

[05:08] something that they were not. But the

[05:10] people who were doing that did not know

[05:12] Charlie Kirk. And all of us who did will

[05:14] attest. Every single person who spent

[05:17] any time with Charlie Kirk will tell you

[05:20] that he was a good and godly man. Not a

[05:22] perfect man. None of us are. There was

[05:24] only one ever perfect man and he was God

[05:26] and man. But but Charlie Kirk was a good

[05:30] man who loved his fellow man and gave

[05:32] his life literally in the pursuit of

[05:36] advancing truth. And so the very least

[05:39] that we can do is honor him. And

[05:42] especially at a time in the country when

[05:43] people are anxious and frightened, in

[05:46] moments like this when when uh political

[05:48] instability and fear are pervasive, it's

[05:50] incumbent upon leaders to step forward

[05:52] and stand in the breach and do what is

[05:54] right. And so by voting for this

[05:56] resolution today, we're making a strong

[05:58] statement on behalf of the Congress.

[05:59] We're telling our constituents for one

[06:01] thing that political violence, but also

[06:04] the glorification and celebration of

[06:06] that violence are profoundly wrong. And

[06:08] that goes against everything we stand

[06:09] for as Americans.

[06:13] Charlie stood for exactly the opposite.

[06:15] He stood for what was good in America,

[06:17] what is virtuous, what is worthy of

[06:19] protection and preservation. And we

[06:21] honor his memory by doing this simple

[06:24] act of passing this resolution. I can't

[06:26] imagine that anyone would vote against

[06:28] it or vote present or pretend as though

[06:31] this is not exactly the right thing to

[06:34] do. So, I certainly hope that we can

[06:36] pass this resolution unanimously today

[06:38] just as it should be passed. And I I

[06:41] thank again my my dear friend and

[06:43] colleague uh Congressman Andy Biggs of

[06:45] Arizona. Our hearts go out to the people

[06:47] of Arizona as they do to all everyone

[06:49] who is mourning this death. But I will

[06:51] tell you this, the truth that Charlie

[06:53] advanced will go forward

[06:56] more loudly and more profoundly than it

[06:59] ever has before. And that's the

[07:00] encouragement we have. With that, I

[07:02] yield back. reserve.

[07:05] Gentleman reserves. Gentleman from

[07:07] California

[07:07] reserve.

[07:08] Gentleman from California reserve.

[07:09] Gentleman from Arizona is recognized.

[07:11] Mr. Speaker, I yield one minute to the

[07:13] gentleman from Louisiana. Are