Students visit D.C., Hear from Congressional Leaders During 47th Peaceful Transfer of Power Celebration

Liberty University’s Office of Business Relations provided over 100 students and faculty with the opportunity to travel to the U.S. Capitol Cannon Caucus Room in Washington, D.C., Jan. 22 for the Celebration of the 47th Peaceful Transfer of Power event. Students were able to hear a variety of congressional leaders discuss their hopes for the nation under the new presidential administration.  

Dave Brat, the senior vice president for business engagement and former congressman to Virginia’s 7th district, organized the event’s guest list, which included House Speaker Mike Johnson and 10 other congresspeople who are listed in the sidebar.  

Brat opened the event with a word of prayer and asked that God’s will would be done in the room before welcoming U.S. Sen. Rand Paul to the front of the room.  

The Kentucky senator and long-time friend of Brat’s said that all citizens of America have a “God-given right to be free” and criticized the effect heavy taxes have on society. Additionally, he said it is paramount to “keep government small” and to strengthen local governments instead of the federal government, as smaller governments are more “responsible.”  

Paul said one solution to restoring the government’s brokenness is to critically evaluate the true intentions of a new piece of legislation. He then called on the students to have the courage to become the next generation’s political leaders.   

“You can elect people who are moral and good people, but morality in the country is going to depend on you being the leaders … you believing in merit, and you believing in the traditions of your religion,” Paul said.  

After Paul finished speaking, students had the opportunity to ask the senator some questions regarding his current legislation. David Catanzaro, a cybersecurity major, asked Paul about his motivation for supporting a bill that would repeal the TikTok ban.  

Paul said he feels the TikTok ban violates the First Amendment, even though others have claimed it poses a national security risk. He also said banning the app is unfair to people, especially its owners, since it would decrease its value, which in turn violates private property rights.  

Shortly after Paul finished, Johnson entered the room through a side entrance and Brat thanked him for attending the event.  

“I love this idea, I mean we should commemorate the peaceful transfer of power, it’s a remarkable thing, … it’s really been something already,” Johnson said. “The last 48 hours, our new president, Donald J. Trump in my estimation has already done arguably more for the American people than his predecessor did in four years, but don’t get me started on that.” 

Johnson said he did not want to the discussion to center on “partisan politics” but would rather discuss the merits of principle. He said President Trump is “wasting no time” getting back to work, despite the first family’s ongoing transition to the White House.  

Johnson said he had a meeting with Trump, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Vice President J.D. Vance, among others. When Johnson arrived at the White House, Vance told him that he had never been inside the Oval Office. Johnson was astonished that Vance had not seen the Oval Office before and asked if he could video his reaction.  

“We walked down the hallway, and we walk into the Oval and here’s this humble kid from Appalachia, who comes from these really difficult circumstances, who’s risen to become the elected vice president of the United States, and he walks into the … (Oval Office) for the first time, and I captured it on video, thank you very much,” Johnson said.  

Johnson transitioned his speech to discuss how his role in Congress is an “interesting job” and said he got his position in October 2023 in a rather “circuitous manner” that was not originally in his plans.   

“These are very important times for the nation …  I’m so excited cause I believe we came at a crossroads in the election cycle, and I believe, y’all will agree I’m sure, that God has decided to give America another chance,” Johnson said.  

Johnson said what occurred this past election cycle came from a lot of prayer, and he believes America is “the greatest nation in the history of the world.”   

“I mean really, you can set Israel aside as a special case, but the United States is the most powerful, most successful, most free, most benevolent nation that has ever been … it’s (an) objective fact. I’m a lawyer, I’ll debate you on it if you want…,” Johnson said.  

The Louisiana congressman and former Liberty online adjunct professor said the students are fortunate to attend Liberty because they have the privilege of being surrounded by like-minded individuals. Johnson said he “loved interacting with Liberty University students” when he was an online instructor and admitted that he has a heart for teaching students about the vitality of America’s constitutional government.  

Johnson said in the past he enjoyed traveling to various high schools and universities to talk to students about this nation’s founding and why it is special compared to other countries’ governments. It was at this point that Johnson had an assistant bring a white board to the front of the room.  

Johnson said he would start by asking high school students if they thought they lived in the “greatest nation in the history of the world.”  

The 56th house speaker then began to write “God” at the top of the whiteboard with arrows pointing down to the word “kings,” which then had arrows pointing down to the word “people.” He explained that this model represents the “divine right of kings” philosophy. Johnson explained that the members of the Continental Congress wanted to stand up against this philosophy because it encouraged a tyrannical system of government that was not for the people.  

“Whenever the earthly boss is taking away rights that actually come from your creator, then you have an obligation to stand for those rights,” Johnson said.  

Johnson began citing the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence, emphasizing that “all men are created equal” and then erased the word “kings” from the whiteboard, essentially removing the “middleman.” He also recited the words from the Gettysburg Address, which states that all of America is a “nation under God” and said it is an “earth-shattering,” biblical concept that cannot be squandered because humanity is made in the image of God.  

“If you are made in God’s image, that has huge implications because it means that you have inestimable dignity and value,” Johnson said.  

 Johnson pointed to the whiteboard, where the arrows were now pointing from the word “God” to the “people,” showing that America’s government must support the people. He then explained how he mentioned the seven principles of conservatism in his acceptance speech at the speaker’s gala earlier this month.  

Johnson said it’s extraordinary that Liberty teaches students to value the seven core principles of individual freedom, limited government, rule of law, peace through strength, fiscal responsibility, free markets and sanctity of life, because they are fundamental to the nation’s success.  

“So what you’re doing at Liberty is no small thing, cause it’s a small tiny subset of Americans who believe, appreciate and understand this, embrace it, and want to continue doing it and so I tip my hat to you all, acknowledging the peaceful transfer of power of the 47th president …,” Johnson said.  

He concluded his speech by encouraging the students to become “servant leaders” as he believes Congress needs more individuals that value the country’s founding to keep the government sustained.  

The students then posed for a picture with Johnson, and Brat prayed for the house speaker to have wisdom, discernment and stamina, at his request.  

Rep. Ben Cline, who represents Virginia’s 6th district was the last congressperson to share his perspective on the current state of the federal government. Cline said there are not enough people to stand up for what is right, and he said it is integral to pray for every leader in this country, despite their political party affiliation.  

Cline said it is important for all to “stand up for life” and “to stand up for the unborn,” especially with the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade being overturned and the annual March for Life occurring Jan. 24 in Washington, D.C.  

Cline then took questions from students who asked him to share what he had learned from his previous positions, as well as his thoughts on the district he’s representing.  

Madelyn Jahnke, a freshman majoring in government, national security and intelligence studies, was astonished by the immense array of speakers and is hopeful for the future of the United States government.  

“It gave me a lot of hope for the future, especially being a government major. We can be kind of negative looking at how bad everything is, but listening to them come in and speak about all the things that they are doing and actively pursuing to fix everything … is really good to hear,” Jahnke said.  

 

Speakers Present At The Event:  

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) 

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky) 

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) 

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) 

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) 

Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-IN) 

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky) 

Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ) 

Rep. John McGuire (R-Va) 

Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT) 

Rep. Ben Cline (R-Va) 

Rep.  Michael McCaul (R-TX) 

 

Davis is the Editor-in-Chief for the Liberty Champion. Follow her on X.