Q. Hold that thought for a second or so. We want to ask you about that speech and also want to know if you would be open to a position in a Trump White House. Some delegates are already saying you look and sound like a shortlist contender for attorney general.

A. Speaker Johnson: I want to be of my highest and best use for this moment and this opportunity we have as a nation. I think the role of speaker of the House is so important to the legislative agenda before us. And what we’re doing now is very methodically planning an aggressive agenda for the new Congress, for the first 100 days and beyond. Because we’re anticipating we’ll have a unified government. So as the architect of the playbook, it will be really necessary to implement the plays and have continuity of leadership. Look, I’ll serve my country in any way I’m called, but I feel excited about the opportunities that are ahead of us. I have a very important role to play in that, in the role I have now.

Q. You’ve called for a far-reaching investigation into the shooting of former President Donald Trump. What is your anticipated endgame? Do you want more than findings from the new task force and House Oversight Committee? Recommendations? Other actions?

A. We need accountability. We need to ensure this never, ever happens again. I called for the resignation of [U.S. Secret Service] Director [Kimberly] Cheatle and she shows no signs of taking that course. So I called the White House this morning and said they need to fire her. Joe Biden needs to take decisive action. What we know already is completely inexcusable and dangerous. Accountability begins at the top. I told the White House, his right-hand man, Steve Ricchetti, “This can be an actual moment of leadership for the president, politically. This is low-hanging fruit. Show some initiative, for goodness’ sake. But they won’t, of course.

Q. The party has a vice presidential candidate in Ohio Sen. JD Vance, who at times hasn’t always been a friendly voice for his running mate. Do you get the sense that’s water under the bridge?

A. It is, yeah. I spent time with JD yesterday. We’re becoming fast friends. I have high regard for his intellect, although we have slightly different perspectives about policy issues. But we both agree that’s really healthy for the party. We’re looking forward to leading together. I talked with him for about a half-hour yesterday, just he and I. And we talked about this aggressive agenda for the new Congress and how important it will be for the vice president to be fully engaged in that. We haven’t had a fully engaged vice president in some time. To have him fresh out of the Senate, to know how it works, could be a great benefit to the president.

Q. Your RNC speech about the seven principles of modern conservatism resonated with many delegates. We’ve heard quite a bit of feedback. You created that list years ago, though. What made you bring it back out for that speech, and what originally inspired the list?

A. I was elected to chairman of the Republican Study Committee in 2019. It’s the largest caucus in Congress, the biggest caucus of conservatives. I was just going into my second term, so that was unusual. I mentioned to my colleagues we’re in an unprecedented moment. At the time, in 2019, there was a turbulence in the party and the country — lots of things were being shifted around — and people were losing sight of what it means to be a conservative. What does it mean? As a positive to my colleagues, we had 153 members in the RSC at the time. One day I asked members, “If you were in an elevator downtown today and you had an opportunity with a millennial who had the wrong worldview, what would you say to them to convince them your worldview is preferable? What does it mean to be conservative? If they have a shirt that says, ‘Proud Progressive,’ what do you say?” I think if we created a task force, it would produce a list that looks like this. If you had to condense a library of conservative thought and writing from the founders, from the very beginning, the works that inspired the party platform for the last several decades, and nail it down to one page, what would it be? This is what I think it would be. This is the essence. But really, the core principles of the country itself right now involve speaking with clarity, conviction and consistency more than we ever have. We all need that. I feel more deeply burdened about that today than I did back then.

Q. You mentioned earlier this is the inspiration for a new book. What can you tell us about that? How far are you into the project?

A. It’s almost finished. I was going to try to get it out before the vote, but I don’t think that’s going to happen now. It’s very simple. I’ve been making the case for these seven core principles around the country, Jeremy. I’ve done events in 144 cities in 31 states now. Everywhere I go when I reference this, it resonates deeply. It’s as if people need it. When I’m out and around the country, I have to specify that I’m from Louisiana and I speak in football and hurricane metaphors. Everything to us is one of those. A hurricane metaphor is uncharted waters in choppy seas. There are dark skies on the horizon, right? It’s coming up from the ocean. But the thing is, you have to know where the fixed points are on the horizon. [Late President Ronald] Reagan said in his farewell address, “They called me the Great Communicator. But I really wasn’t. I was just communicating great things. The same great things that have guided our nation since its founding.” That’s the essence of great things. I suggest we’re the stewards of those great things today. We need to know what we believe if we’re going to evangelize and bring people along. People want to know what we’re for, not just what we’re against. That’s going to be central to us moving forward.

Q. What does your travel and fundraising schedule look like this fall in terms of your plans to help incumbents and GOP congressional candidates?

A. It’s endless. I’m trying to be in my district as much as possible. The speaker is also requested to be in every district. So it’s everywhere around the country. It’s a tireless schedule. But we’ve put a slot on the schedule for one, single nap the day after Christmas. I’ll sleep in late December. Between now and then, we’re not stopping.

Q. We’ve got two more questions —

The staffer recording this interview politely made his presence known.

“We have to go. … We have to go, unfortunately,” the staffer said.

Johnson looked up, asking, “What time is Kudlow?”

“Three. Hard. Live. I’m sorry.”

“Live?” the speaker inquired.

“Yes, sir.”

Before standing, Johnson offered to finish our interview by phone. Upon learning the two remaining questions could be condensed into one, he rose to his feet. Someone suggested he could walk and talk.

“Let’s do it,” Johnson said.

The fellowship followed as the speaker slowly made his way to a nearby set of elevators. At what seemed like every corner, he turned to look for his wife, placing his hand in hers or on her back. Despite the convention’s long hours, the sometimes-toxic political environment and the haters who hate everything on social media, there were smiles all around.

Q. A little over two months have passed since a small group of Republican members endeavored to have you removed. As you reflect on that now, where does your mind go?

A. I never skipped a beat. I never looked back. (Where are we going? Who are we following again? This way? Oh. OK!) It’s part of the process. We had the smallest margin in U.S. history. [Former U.S. House Speaker] Newt Gingrich wrote an op-ed for The Washington Times eight weeks ago and said, “Johnson has the most challenging speakership since the Civil War about 160 years ago.” And he made the point that before he became speaker he had 16 years to build a platform and leadership team and structure and fundraising. He said, “Johnson had 15 minutes.” But I had a one-vote margin, you know? That’s behind us. We went through a valley. I kept telling the team to stick together and it’ll be brighter on the other side. I think we’re here now.