House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) did not receive resounding support from the Trump administration over this week's comments regarding Israel and Gaza.
During Tuesday's Pentagon news briefing, a reporter asked, "Today, Speaker Johnson was in the West Bank, which he referred to as 'Judea and Samaria,' and said that it rightfully belongs to the Jewish people. Is that official U.S. policy, and if it's not, what is U.S. policy toward the West Bank?"
Johnson visited a settlement in the occupied West Bank as part of a private visit to Israel, according to Axios. He traveled with other Republican members of the Friends of Judea and Samaria caucus in Congress, "which supports Israeli settlements and advocates for annexation of the West Bank," according to the report.
State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce replied, "Uh, well, I've said this about other diplomats who've spoken their minds, including Ambassador Huckabee. Certainly that's not — if there's a policy in that regard, you would hear it from me. So, I think I can say that. I'm not going to speak for him or characterize his words in any ways, but clearly that is his opinion."
The reporter then asked, "But it's not the opinion of the U.S. government?"
"Well, I'm not going to speak about opinion of the government, and if there's a status in any region of the world, certainly in the Middle East, I would wait to hear it from Secretary Rubio and President Trump."
Watch the clip below via the U.S. State Department.