House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) may go from hero to zero in Donald Trump's eyes as a "rift" grows within the House GOP caucus over the Jeffrey Epstein files and Republicans side with Democrats in demanding transparency.
Johnson chalked up a big win with the president by guiding the megabill Trump demanded through the House, and basked in the glory for days before the Department of Justice announced that the files on the accused pedophile would not be released.
After some of Trump's biggest MAGA supporters spiraled into open revolt, far-right lawmakers like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) joined them — with more to follow as the Wall Street Journal dropped two bombshell reports on the relationship between the president and Epstein.
Appearing on MSNBC with host Anna Cabrera, Punchbowl News co-founder Jake Sherman claimed Johnson may now suffer the same fate as two other Republican House speakers faced when they couldn't keep their GOP colleagues in line.
"There's a big rift right between Johnson and members of his party. How, help us understand that rift?" the MSNBC host asked.
"If it was only Massie, it would be one thing," Sherman replied. "But the bigger problem for Trump is that it's some of his allies. [GOP Rep.] Brian Jack of Georgia, who worked for Donald Trump in the White House in the last administration, is a close ally of the president, voted for a deposition or a subpoena yesterday that would take the documents from the Justice Department, turn over those documents."
"If it were just Massie, this wouldn't be a problem," he repeated. "It's much more than Massie and, as for the speaker, I don't know what kind of problems Johnson is going to have. Trump has turned on basically every other speaker who has worked with him, Paul Ryan, Kevin McCarthy, in various ways, and he hasn't turned on Johnson yet"
"But again, this is a why, in my view and I think in the House Republican leadership's view, this is a problem that the White House has not given a lot of cover for Republicans on," he added. "I mean, they're just part of the problem. The rift is at least being exacerbated by the White House and their inability to give any political cover to the story."
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