Remarks Prior to a Meeting With Republican Congressional Leaders and an Exchange With Reporters

The President. What a great team this is. What an unbelievable team. We'll know soon. [Laughter] We have a great team. And it's wonderful to be here this afternoon with the Republican leadership House and Senate, including Speaker Ryan, Leader McConnell, Leader McCarthy, Senator Cornyn, Representative Scalise. Thank you all for being here. I greatly appreciate it.

In just a short time, the election—since the election, we have achieved truly incredible gains for the American people. We've already added more than 1 million new jobs, and it's going up very fast—you see the new reports coming out; going up very, very fast—and approved a historic increase in military spending. We have increased the stock market values and values of corporations on the public markets by $3.4 trillion since November 8.

I've signed 36 bills into law and repealed one job-crushing regulation after another. In fact, the House and Senate have set a record number of resolutions that eliminate regulations to my desk for signature, saving our economy many billions of dollars annually. And in fact, based on the numbers we just got, the actual number is approximately $18 billion we've saved annually with all of the bills that I've signed. So that's a great job. Great job, Mitch, and everybody—Paul.

Together, we'll fight for promised measures on the border. And we have fought very successfully. We have tough policies to keep deadly drugs and the vicious gangs out of the country. MS-13 is being taken care of at a very, very rapid clip by General—now Secretary—Kelly. He's done an incredible job, really incredible job.

And we're down—reduction on people pouring through our border, down 78 percent as of now—78 percent. It used to be, if you got down 1 percent, it was a good job. We're down 78 percent. That's before we have the wall. The wall will be a great help. And that will happen, believe me.

My administration is also working with Congress to rebuild our infrastructure. We'll be discussing that at great—in great depth next week with Gary Cohn and with Steve Mnuchin and with Mike Pence and everybody else working on it. And to pass a massive tax cut, which will be the biggest tax cut in our country's history if it's passed the way we'd like to have it passed. It will be the biggest tax cut in our country's history, and it will spur business like never before.

At the core of this agenda is repealing and replacing the disaster known as Obamacare. Average Obamacare premiums have more than doubled from 2013 to 2017, including an increase of 203 percent in Alaska. Wow, that's a new one. I always use Arizona at 116—[laughter]—I got stuck at 116 percent. Now we're at 203. That's pretty big. One-twenty-three in Louisiana—these are the new numbers, folks. I think after a year of talking about 116 percent in Arizona, you'll be happy to hear we have some new numbers. And 176 percent in North Carolina, a great State.

Insurance carriers are fleeing and leaving many Americans with only one insurer or even no insurers to choose from. And that's been happening now in numerous States. And just this afternoon we learned the last statewide insurer in the great State of Ohio is leaving. So they don't have any insurers. That means another 20 counties in the State of Ohio will have no health care plan.

If Congress doesn't act to save Americans from this Democrat-inflicted catastrophe, next year is only going to get worse. It's going to get a lot worse. Although I don't know how it can get worse than 203 percent, but I'm sure the Democrats will find a way. [Laughter]

Almost every major insurer has already pulled out for 2018. The House took an important first step to rescue Americans from this calamity when, Paul, you and your group, and Steve, and everybody passed the American Health Care Act. And that was a very, very long and difficult negotiation, but it really gives a great print and a great concept to Mitch. And now the Senate, I'm sure, will follow suit and get a bill across the finish line this summer that will be great health care for Americans. And I'm looking forward to seeing it, so looking forward to seeing it.

So we're working very hard on our massive tax cuts, and we're working very, very hard on the health care. And I think we're going to have some very pleasant surprises for a lot of people.

So I'd like to thank the leadership for being with us. Mike Pence, you've been great, and I appreciate you being here. Steve, great. I appreciate everyone. Jared—Jared has actually become much more famous than me. [Laughter] I'm a little bit upset about that. So I want to thank everybody very much for being here, and let's get to work. We're going to get to work and get it done. Thank you all very much.

Former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James B. Comey, Jr.

Q. Mr. President, what message do you have for Comey ahead of his testimony?

The President. Thank you. I wish him luck. Thank you, everybody.