DORAL, Florida — Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday he has discussed “our tone and our message” with the two House Republicans who have made anti-Muslim remarks in recent days but defended the right of the lawmakers to oppose “the imposition of Sharia law.”

“Look, there’s a lot of energy in the country, and a lot of popular sentiment, that the demand to impose Sharia law in America is a serious problem,” Johnson said at a news conference during the House GOP policy retreat at the Trump Doral resort. “That’s what animates me.”

Sharia law refers to a set of religious principles that guide devout Muslims, and Republicans often refer to it in the context of Islamic fundamentalism. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) posted on social media Monday that “Muslims don’t belong in American society.”

“Pluralism is a lie,” he added, later following up with a graphic showing “what Islam offers” — some examples of which included “rape,” “beheadings” and “burning people alive.”

Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) wrote in a post on X last month that “If they force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one.”

Neither Ogles nor Fine differentiated between the Muslim faith and Sharia law.

Johnson has been under pressure to condemn the rhetoric, particularly from Ogles, but the Louisiana Republican suggested Tuesday only that he regretted the choice of words, not the sentiment.

“Our Constitution is the greatest in the world. … And one of the principles that we believe in, stated first in the nation’s birth certificate, is that all of us are created equal by God,” said Johnson Tuesday. “We respect everyone’s beliefs and their right to live out their beliefs and to speak freely about their beliefs, and have that conviction.

“But when you seek to come to a country and not assimilate but to impose Sharia law … that is the conflict that people are talking about,” he added. “It’s not about people as Muslims, it is about people who seek to impose a different belief system that is in direct conflict with the constitution.”

House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole doesn’t think Congress should find spending cuts to offset the total cost of the Middle East war and the military spending request lawmakers expect from the administration in the coming days.

“I think war is never paid for when you fight it, it’s paid for over time,” the Oklahoma Republican said in an interview Tuesday. “We didn’t pay for World War II or Korea or World War I for that matter. I mean, so I don’t think it should be offset.”

“I have no doubt that some people will want to raise those questions,” Cole added. “I personally don’t see how you can do that.”

DORAL, Florida — President Donald Trump’s call for congressional action on an updated elections overhaul is facing serious doubts from senior House Republicans who aren’t convinced it can pass the chamber a third time.

Trump’s demand for a near-total ban on mail voting, in particular, remains an obstacle. When GOP leaders put a version of the SAVE America Act on the House floor last month, they left out that provision, bowing to some Republicans’ internal concerns.

Those dynamics have not changed, according to four people granted anonymity to describe internal conversations, even after Trump told Speaker Mike Johnson at the House Republican policy retreat Monday to draft a new version of the bill with the mail voting provision and other additions.

Several members pressed Johnson on the SAVE America Act during a question-and-answer session behind closed doors Tuesday morning. But he remained noncommittal about how Congress would pass it, according to three people in the room, and noted Senate Majority Leader John Thune has raised concerns about the legislation tying up the other chamber.

Asked if the House could pass a third version of the legislation, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said in a brief interview that Republicans would “be talking about that” during their closed-door meetings.

“I mean, obviously we passed the SAVE America Act, which is all of the things — you know, prove citizenship, show ID to vote — that’s over in the Senate, and there’s a lot of momentum building to get the Senate to move that bill to the president’s desk,” Scalise said.

“So I know that momentum is going to keep building,” he added. “Obviously, we’re talking these next few days about the remaining things we’re going to do this year.”