All posts tagged "mike johnson"

‘Weakest Speaker’: Mike Johnson derided on Capitol Hill after latest Trump surrender

WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security remains shut down, but you wouldn’t know it from walking around the U.S. Capitol, where the Epstein files and President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address are the talk of elected officials.

The silence as the DHS shutdown drags into its third week is, in part, because House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune have, once again, outsourced their constitutionally-mandated spending powers to President Trump.

“I'm getting quite used to this. Republican leadership isn't really leading,” Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA) told Raw Story.

While negotiations are nonexistent, simmering anger on the left is palpable.

“They don't really have any agency,” Rep. Joaquín Castro (D-TX) told Raw Story ahead of a House vote this week. “They’ve voluntarily given up power.

“Johnson really is probably the weakest Speaker, at least in recent memory. Everything is just about Trump and what Trump wants, on their side.”

‘Basic safeguards’

The DHS shutdown began earlier this month after Senate Democrats defeated the no-strings-attached funding extension Republicans squeaked out of the House.

The shutdown means members of key DHS agencies, including the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), are working without pay.

Earlier this week, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said the White House still hasn’t answered a recent offer shipped down Pennsylvania Avenue, with “crickets” in response.

The stand-off is fueled by Democratic fury over recent immigration operations in Minneapolis, prominently featuring violent action by agents of DHS bodies including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol.

Two U.S. citizen protesters — Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, both 37 — were shot and killed in the city last month, fueling anger already stoked by arrest and deportation efforts including shootings of undocumented migrants.

Democrats are demanding reforms including an end to masking by federal agents and the use of judicial search warrants, measures congressional Republicans, the White House and DHS leaders reject.

“We ought to be able to … agree to basic constitutional safeguards like warrants and no masks, identifying themselves,” Castro said. “Those are not unreasonable requests.”

Reasonable or not, the White House remains mum — which has some powerful Republicans pointing fingers.

In a statement, House Appropriations Committee chair Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), accused Democrats of choosing “to make the security of the American people — and the livelihoods of DHS families — contingent on partisan demands.”

Cole added: “It’s time for my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to return to the basic obligation of governing: keep the nation secure and fund the department charged with doing so.”

Castro, a member of the House Intelligence and Foreign Affairs committees, told Raw Story: “We don't want to see any part of the federal government shut down.

“At the same time, they got $150 billion extra dollars within the last few years, and Donald Trump has been willing to move money around departments since he got to a second term. And so they have the money they need for all the functions they need.”

Last May, a $150 billion infusion of money for anti-immigration measures cleared the House by a one-vote margin. It has been widely pointed out that the DHS shutdown is not affecting operations by ICE, as it benefits from that budget measure.

‘Tone deaf’

Larsen lamented DHS letting “ICE agents run amok” as “tone deaf” Republicans refuse to bend on any of the safeguards Democrats are demanding.

Larsen also pointed to lingering scandals over the behavior of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, which have led to calls for her to be fired.

“I think that part of the problem is Kristi Noem,” Larsen said. “It’s like she doesn't want to run the agency, except for herself. It's how it looks like and the administration refuses to even consider that.”

Noem’s use of DHS resources for her own comfort and close relationship with adviser Corey Lewandowski have been the subject of bombshell reporting. But President Trump seems inclined to stick by her.

Mocking Trump administration responses to the shutdown, Larsen, a member of the House Transportation Committee, said: “You have Kristi Noem saying things like, ‘Well, we're not going to put out business relief dollars. We're going to suspend TSA PreCheck [for air travelers], without checking with the White House, and the White House saying, ‘Yeah, TSA PreCheck’ [will continue].”

It added up to a clear Democratic expectation of slow to no progress in reopening DHS, and paying its key employees, any time soon — particularly as Speaker Johnson and Senate Leader Thune leave talks to Trump.

“I don't think the White House believes, or DHS believes, they have leverage on Congress,” Larsen said. “They sure don't seem to have leverage. The White House knows our position, and we know their position. And so it's in their court.”

'Frustrated' GOP Senate leader admits Trump's voter bill is dead — and lashes out at House

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has reportedly hit a frustration point and rejected the "talking filibuster" — signaling that President Donald Trump's SAVE America Act no longer has a path forward.

Thune has faced growing pressure from Trump, House and Senate conservative leaders and MAGA influencers to push the legislation forward using the maneuver, but as of Wednesday Thune has publicly said there is no way for Republicans to pass the GOP-backed bill requiring ID and proof of citizenship to vote, according to Punchbowl News. Multiple sources have also said that Thune has shared private frustration with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and House Republicans who have continued to press the "talking filibuster."

"It’s yet another self-inflicted wound from a party that can’t seem to settle on a midterm message," Punchbowl News reported. "Republicans are tearing themselves apart over legislation that has captivated Trump’s base but has almost no chance of becoming law. It’s also threatening to sour cross-Capitol relations among top Republicans."

"Thune has long expressed skepticism of the 'talking filibuster' tactic, warning it would jam up the Senate floor for weeks or even months," according to Punchbowl News. "The procedure would allow Senate Democrats to force votes on some of the most politically treacherous issues facing vulnerable Republicans."

It's a risky move for Republicans just months away from the midterm elections.

"Republicans would need to stick together to kill every Democratic amendment, or risk allowing Democrats to hijack the Senate floor and derail the SAVE America Act," Punchbowl News reported.

Four GOP senators — Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), Sen. John Curtis (R-UT), Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) — have signaled they were not willing to support moving the process forward.

"Retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) told us he’ll vote 'no' on the motion to proceed to the SAVE America Act absent a clear plan to pass it without nuking the legislative filibuster," according to Punchbowl News. "That means the first procedural vote — and several others throughout the potentially weeks-long process — would require perfect GOP attendance and a constant presence by Vice President JD Vance to break ties. One more 'no' vote and the process couldn’t even get off the ground."

Mike Johnson admits Trump's tariffs are dead on arrival in Congress

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said Monday that he doubted Congress would pass any legislation to reinstate President Donald Trump's tariff policy following the Supreme Court decision last week that the president's levies were illegal.

He described how it would be unlikely for lawmakers to reverse that decision, Politico reported.

“It’s going to be, I think, a challenge to find consensus on any path forward on the tariffs, on the legislative side,” Johnson said. “And so that is why, I think, you see so much of the attention on the executive side, the executive branch, and what they’re doing and how they’re reacting to the ruling.”

And although some Republicans have suggested a second path with a budget reconciliation process following the high court's ruling, Johnson still didn't think it would happen.

“I’m not sure it has much to do with reconciliation,” Johnson said.

Trump this weekend said he would raise tariffs to 15 percent globally, which are slated to expire in 150 days. After that, lawmakers would need to extend those levies. However, according to three sources with direct knowledge of the conversations, Republicans have said privately they do not expect to have the support to do so, and senior GOP leaders don't have plans to continue the Trump tariff agenda, Politico reported.

It was also unclear how potential refunds would work following the Supreme Court decision, which Congress will not be handling, Johnson added.

“The White House is going to sort that out, and we have to give them the time and space to do it,” Johnson said. “This is an unprecedented event, of course, so there’s no playbook to follow. I think they’ve got good arguments on their side, and we’ll see how it shakes out. That’s not something that really involves the House at this point.”

‘I’d like to report a murder’: Rebel GOP lawmaker trolls JD Vance over past Epstein posts

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) spent Tuesday morning reviving Vice President JD Vance's old comments on late financier and convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Massie, who co-authored legislation to push the Department of Justice to release the full Epstein files, pulled up the old posts on X from Vance that revealed the vice president had different thoughts about Epstein in the past. Since the release of more than 3 million documents and materials related to Epstein, Vance has appeared to change his tune about the deceased pedophile's operation and has been criticized for staying mostly quiet on the situation.

Massie has been a frequent critic of President Donald Trump and his administration, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). His open criticism of GOP leadership has frustrated Republican leaders who remain committed to supporting Trump.

Vance wrote in a Sept. 4, 2021, post on X:

"Remember when we learned that our wealthiest and most powerful people were connected to a guy who ran a literal child sex trafficking ring? And then that guy died mysteriously in a jail? And now we just don't talk about it."

Massie had this quippy response at 4:20 a.m. ET Tuesday: "Yeah, why is that?"

"Some of us never forgot," he added in a later post on X.

People were quick to notice the early morning posts, divulging their thoughts on the resurfaced comments from Vance.

"Hello 911, i'd like to report a murder this morning," Matt Rein, attorney and influencer and creative partnerships director for The Democrats, wrote on Threads.

"Lmao the fact that Massie wrote that at 4:20am has me dying," user Emilie Brooks wrote on Threads.

"I certainly want to know why the current administration doesn't want to talk about it or why they won't release all the files," veteran Katie Kazoo wrote on X.

"Your silence on the issue is deafening, JD," social media strategist Devin Duke wrote on X.

Trump just proved this powerful group is a bunch of dangerous hypocrites. They don't care

Yesterday I watched, horrified and spellbound — which is becoming a regular thing — as an event purportedly built on prayer, humility, and the teachings of Jesus Christ dissolved into a Trump rally, complete with guffaws, applause, and a bizarre reverence for every absurd turpitude that tumbled out of the President’s trashy mouth.

It was supposed to be the National Prayer Breakfast: a moment for spiritual reflection and interfaith unity, a morning convocation with a rich history of presidents offering words about the importance of faith.

In 2022, for example, an actual Christian, President Joe Biden, said: “Rather than driving us apart, faith can move us together.”

He urged Americans to see one another not as enemies, but as neighbors.

When the demonic Donald Trump takes the microphone and begins ghoulishly speaking in tongues, words dripping with his ever-present turpitude, such sentiments get crunched to bits.

This year’s gathering became a one-man show. Trump spent nearly an hour rambling, preening, lying, insulting allies and enemies, and praising himself as the savior of American religion.

He claimed he did more for religion than any president in history. He was right. He heaved heaven to hell in a handbasket.

I watched his senselessness unfold on CNN, and what still stuns me is why networks continue to broadcast these so-called speeches. Trump doesn’t care where he is or who he’s addressing. It’s always the same unhinged refuse. Prepared remarks are abandoned or never even exist — he just presents nasty, confused riffs. So why analyze what he’s saying? It surely serves no purpose.

But here we are. Trump’s audience lapped it up. That should tell us everything we need to know about the state of “Christian” political allegiance.

Right out of the gate, Trump called a fellow Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a “moron.” Remember, this was a prayer breakfast. He babbled about Speaker Mike Johnson calling him at 3 a.m. To what end, no one could decipher. The audience leaned in like it was gospel.

Johnson deserves special mention. This is the man who recently scoffed at Pope Leo XIV’s biblical critique of Trump’s immigration policies, delivering a smug theological rebuttal that insulted just about every religious tradition on earth.

The man who once lawyered for a Noah’s Ark amusement park attempted to explain scripture to the Pope, arguing that borders and assimilation — capitulation, really — are biblical, all while defending cruelty as policy. It was surreal, and it laid bare how in certain corners of American Christianity, politics has now devoured faith.

Back to Trump. He boasted about Republican victories, disparaged Democrats, and lashed out — again, and it is getting as old as he is — at Former President Biden. At a prayer breakfast, remember. The audience smiled as Trump rambled about Biden’s supposed inability to understand what Trump was saying, which would actually be proof of Biden’s solid cognitive state. He’s just like the rest of us.

Trump lied about the recent racist arrest of former CNN anchor Don Lemon, who was exercising basic journalistic freedom while livestreaming a protest at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota.

The protesters were confronting a pastor believed tied to ICE. Trump called Lemon’s actions “horrible” and labeled him the protesters “bad people.” The room applauded. Yes, because a gay Black journalist doing his job is “bad people,” to them. That’s three strikes against him. No doubt many in attendance consider Lemon the Antichrist, or at least his emissary.

Thankfully, Trump didn’t linger on his belief that Jesus saved him from assassination so he could turn America into a despotic nation. He did, however, joke about how grateful he was that his hair was unharmed. This from a man whose ludicrous combover tells a different story.

The point is that Trump’s diatribe was utterly unsuitable for the setting but perfectly suited for the audience, which appears to believe that atop his freaky follicles sits a halo.

Trump drew laughter and applause more appropriate for a comedy club or campaign rally than a gathering to contemplate humility and sacrifice. This wasn’t a prayer breakfast. It was an ego-worship service.

And they didn’t just laugh. These deplorable excuses for Christians hung on every word as if it were scripture. That is the truly unsettling part: a supposedly Christian audience choosing nonsense, vanity, and resentment.

Amid this spectacle of sanctified idolatry, one man briefly reminded the room what prayer is supposed to look like.

Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-IL) rose not to flatter Trump, but to pray for his soul. With Trump standing behind him, Jackson asked God to forgive the president, to soften his heart, and to make him mindful of the poor, the suffering, and grieving families — including those mourning in Minneapolis.

The audience response was tepid. Compassion rarely plays well in rooms full of superiority, arrogance, and white power, especially when it comes from a Black Democrat.

Still, Jackson’s invocation was the lone moment that resembled Christianity.

He did not genuflect, as Trump expects Black people to do. He did not confuse nationalism with faith. He spoke truth to power and centered the vulnerable — precisely what Christians are called to do. That took courage.

How far political figures will go to weaponize religion in service of cruelty. In the hands of Speaker Johnson, the Pope’s basic appeal for compassion toward migrants was reduced to ideological idiocy, the gospel warped to match Trump’s inhumanity.

Johnson is publicly devout but his spiritual leader is Trump. That devotion guarantees him a one-way trip to hell.

It’s one thing for politicians to be cynical. It’s another for self-identified Christians to celebrate the subversion of Jesus’s teachings, turning sacred tradition into a platform for seething self-promotion.

If the core of Christianity is love of neighbor, mercy, and humility, what are we to make of a crowd that cheers a man for whom empathy is weakness, humility a disease?

If American Christianity hopes to reclaim its moral spine, it must confront a simple truth: kissing up to Donald the Demon is not the same as following the Prince of Peace.

John Casey was most recently Senior Editor, The Advocate, and is a freelance opinion and feature story writer. Previously, he was a Capitol Hill press secretary, and spent 25 years in media and public relations in NYC. He is the co-author of LOVE: The Heroic Stories of Marriage Equality (Rizzoli, 2025), named by Oprah in her "Best 25 of 2025.”

House passes funding bill to end shutdown as showdown over ICE gets 2-week Band-Aid

The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a funding bill to reopen the government and temporarily fund U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The move signals the end of a four-day partial government shutdown, as Americans have expressed their anger over the Trump administration's aggressive immigration policies, CNN reported. It has apparently created "another funding cliff" in two weeks for the Department of Homeland Security.

President Donald Trump was expected to sign the bill and end the stalemate quickly.

Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson, and other GOP leaders urged Republican members to pass the bill despite their own misgivings about it, a move to prevent a shutdown similar to the 43-day shutdown in fall 2025 that stalled government funding and operations.

Lindsey Graham unleashes fiery warning to Mike Johnson: 'I won't forget this'

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) unleashed a fiery warning to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) Friday.

As a federal shutdown deadline was just hours away, Graham voiced his anger over the House voting against a law that would allow senators to sue the federal government — for potentially millions of dollars — if their data was obtained without their notification. Graham vowed that he wouldn't give up on the payout provision in the legislation.

Journalist Jamie Dupree shared Graham's reaction in a post on X.

"Graham angry about the House voting to repeal the law that lets Senators sue for damages over the Jan. 6 probe," Dupree wrote.

"You jammed me - Speaker Johnson, I won't forget this," Graham said. "If you think I'm going to give up on this, you really don't know me."

Speaker triggers fear of massive backfire with plan to save midterms for GOP: analysis

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson could be preparing a last-minute pitch to salvage 2026 for the Republican Party, a political analyst has claimed.

It could be a move that makes the GOP nervous, as CNN analysts Lauren Fox and Sarah Ferris argued an economic bill could be a chance for Johnson to revitalize interest in the Trump agenda. But it could massively backfire for Johnson, who gave instructions to GOP lawmakers to pitch in with new ideas.

"Johnson has instructed chairmen to come up with a menu of ideas they’d like to see in another GOP economic bill," Fox and Ferris wrote. "But whether the bill is focused on health care, tax policy or further deficit reduction is still not clear.

"And it will be difficult for Johnson to start cobbling together a new bill when he is still constantly quelling internal fights about GOP priorities on the floor and begging members to show up for votes with no room to spare in their narrow margin.

"Last week alone, GOP leaders lost a floor vote they didn’t even realize was in trouble and were forced to pull several other measures from their agenda."

Fox and Ferris compared the upcoming economic bill to that of the GOP's Obamacare repeal effort in Trump's first term. They wrote, "Johnson’s agenda 2.0 plan is a long-shot effort that comes with no shortage of potential downsides for him and for the party."

"Trying and failing — like Republicans did with their Obamacare repeal effort in 2017 ahead of Trump’s last midterm — could highlight GOP ineptitude just months before the election. And conservatives are already telegraphing they want to see significant cuts to a federal budget that moderates are struggling to defend on the campaign trail."

It does not appear to align with centrist Republican party views, though, and Johnson will have a tough battle on his hands if the likes of Nebraska's Don Bacon and New Jersey's Jeff Van Drew are to be believed. Both told CNN they would be more interested in "bipartisan wins" than anything else.

Bacon said, "I just think it creates a very polarized environment. I think it’s bad to lean on it.” Drew agreed, adding the GOP needs to "really regroup" in the time before the midterms, and that he hopes the party "don't do something stupid."

'Mission from God': Analyst ridicules Mike Johnson for how he runs House

Mike Johnson has been ridiculed by a political analyst for running the House as though he is on a "mission from God."

Commentary from Greg Sargent and Sarah Posner highlighted the shortcomings of Johnson's role as Speaker of the House. The GOP representative, according to Posner, does not represent the American people, just those who voted for the party. Speaking to The New Republic, Posner said, "For Johnson, he represents only Republicans."

"In his mind, he doesn’t represent all American people. He thinks that he is on a mission from God to carry out a biblical or a Christian kind of government. And in his mind, that kind of government, you know, does not represent the ideals of, you know, helping your neighbor, welcoming the stranger—things that many people would think are biblical values."

"But for him, the biblical values are a strong, powerful, militarized government that lays down the law and protects America from what he sees as America’s enemies: the left."

Johnson could be set to lose his majority in the House, with an analyst for MS Now believing the House leader will be in an untenable position by the end of the year.

After the unexpected death of Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) and serious car crash involving Rep. Jim Baird (R-IN), who was hospitalized and expected to recover — but will not be available for upcoming votes — the Republican majority is hanging in the balance, according to Steve Benen, producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show."

"LaMalfa’s death leaves House Speaker Mike Johnson with a 218-member conference — in a chamber where 218 is the bare minimum for a majority," Benen explained.

"What’s more, conditions for the majority party are likely to get worse before they get better, Benen wrote. "While Greene and LaMalfa are likely to be replaced by Republicans, the special elections to fill their vacancies are still months away."

"On the other hand, later this month, voters will replace the late Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner in one of Texas’ bluest districts, increasing the Democratic conference to 214 members and narrowing the House GOP’s advantage even more."

Mike Johnson admits ICE 'doing what it's designed to do' after Minnesota mom's killing

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) told reporters Wednesday that ICE agents don't need any guardrails after the fatal killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis and reported attacks on citizens across the United States.

Democrats have signaled they would like to add additional oversight and potentially cut back on funding for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency after agent Jonathan Ross shot dead 37-year-old Good behind the wheel of her car last week.

"I think there's a lot of Democrats playing games right now with national security and with law enforcement, and I think it's dangerous," Johnson told The Independent's D.C. Bureau Chief Eric Michael Garcia, who shared video of Johnson's remarks on X.

"ICE is doing what ICE is designed to do, by its very name it's Immigration and Customs Enforcement, they're enforcing federal law," Johnson added. "They're going and getting dangerous criminals, sometimes in sanctuary cities, where they get too much resistance, and you know, we've seen the tragic consequences and effects of that so I don't think we need to be cutting funding right now. I think the American people want the law to be enforced. I think we need to let law enforcement do his job."

Mike Johnson tells me he opposes adding additional guardrails or accountability for ICE after the killing of Renee Good pic.twitter.com/VBmlQsh0lj
— Eric Michael Garcia (@EricMGarcia) January 14, 2026