First Sitting U.S. House Speaker to Address UK Parliament as America Marks 250th Independence Anniversary

By Sam Barron | Wednesday, January 7, 2026

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., will become the first sitting U.S. House speaker to address the United Kingdom Parliament this month.

Johnson’s scheduled speech on January 20 commemorates the upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States declaring independence from Great Britain.

The event follows a tradition established in 1976, when then-Speaker Carl Albert visited London to mark the U.S. bicentennial. In his statement, Johnson expressed honor in accepting an invitation from Sir Lindsay Hoyle, speaker of the U.K. House of Commons.

“The U.S. and the UK have stood together as pillars of peace and security across generations,” Johnson stated.

He added that while the two nations forged their friendship during the 20th century’s great wars, their true strength comes from “a shared commitment to individual freedom, human dignity, and the rule of law”—principles that form “the exceptional, joint heritage of the English-speaking world.”

Johnson also noted: “As America begins its semiquincentennial celebration, I will be happy to visit one of the great shrines of democracy itself, where the principles that launched the long struggle for American liberty were debated and refined.”

Sir Lindsay Hoyle described Parliament as being “sited just miles away from where the cross-Atlantic relationship began more than 400 years ago.” He added: “The courage of the Founding Fathers, who set sail on the Mayflower for the New World, built a bridge and connections across the Atlantic, which continues until today.”