Renegade Republican sets up Mike Johnson 'clash' by shrugging off 'clear warning': report

A House Republican brushed off Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and a top GOP leader this week in a legislative move that raised several eyebrows on Capitol Hill, according to a new report.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) ignored a "clear warning" from Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) to fix her data privacy bill -- but she announced she'll advance it anyway, Politico's Olivia Beavers reported Wednesday.

"McMorris Rodgers’ response was perceived as a rebuff of her own leaders’ warning," Beavers writes. "The Washington State Republican’s decision to buck the advice...threatens to set up an unusual clash."

Two Republicans told Beavers that Johnson and Scalise warned the Energy and Commerce chair that several members of the committee opposed her bill and others would only vote for it reluctantly.

The American Privacy Rights Act, as described by McMorris Rodgers in an April press release, would create a national standard for data privacy rights, allow web users to opt out of targeted ads and give them the right to sue bad actors, among other provisions.

According to the report, some Republicans are worried the “private right of action” would empower individuals to sue tech companies and others have concerns about how the bill would affect the future of artificial intelligence.

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But McMorris Rodgers appears determined to push the bipartisan bill as far forward as she can before retiring from the House when her term ends in January, Beavers reports.

"Critics of the bill are predicting that McMorris Rodgers hopes to pressure her committee members to vote unanimously for the bill, even as some GOP lawmakers privately urge leadership to protect them from having to take any vote," writes Beavers.

"While data privacy protection is broadly popular with members of both parties — who agree the government should establish federal guidelines to protect consumers as companies continue to collect data online — McMorris Rodgers’ struggle to get the bill to the floor is a clear sign that effectively legislating on the issue won’t be easy."