A quietly simmering disagreement among House Republicans is spilling into public view, and it could eventually pit speaker Mike Johnson against president Donald Trump.
Johnson wants GOP lawmakers to scale back their plans to investigate the members of the Jan. 6 committee, including former congresswoman Liz Cheney, and narrow its scope, but Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) prefers a broader directive for the panel he's been tapped to lead, and some White House officials are on his side, three sources familiar with the negotiations told CNN.
"Trump told Johnson before he took office that he wanted this investigation to be a priority," CNN previously reported. "The tapered scope would also prohibit the investigation from looking at security preparedness leading up to the attack and how to improve security at the US Capitol going forward, the sources added, [and] the behind-the-scenes disagreement that has deadlocked negotiations is in part why Loudermilk’s new select subcommittee, which Johnson announced in January, has not yet started its work."
ALSO READ:'Absolutely unconscionable': Ex-Republican demands Trump removed from office after fight
Loudermilk probed the Jan. 6 committee during the last Congress, which resulted in a report recommending that Cheney be investigated by the FBI for her role looking into the U.S. Capitol riot, but Johnson would prefer his new inquiry focus on Department of Justice prosecutions, the use of paid FBI informants who were in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 and trying to identify the person who placed pipe bombs near the Republican and Democratic National Committee headquarters.
Many other House Republicans would prefer to move on but are unable because Trump himself wants revenge against Cheney and other Jan. 6 committee members, and it's clearly not a priority with some caucus members.
“I didn’t even know there was an effort to keep this going to be honest with you,” said Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ), who represents a swing district.
But the president's desire for vengeance remains high on the list of priorities for his MAGA allies, including Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), who has supported an effort to declare that Trump did not engage in an insurrection.