All posts tagged "mike johnson"

Republicans dread returning home for the summer: 'All of these issues will come up'

Republicans heading home for their summer recess will now have to explain to their hometown voters what they have been doing in Washington, D.C. — and they are not happy about that.

According to a Politico report, GOP lawmakers who spoke with the outlet after House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) sent everyone home early are fully aware that they will be facing voters' wrath after getting little done despite their majorities in both chambers.

GOP members are heading back to their districts knowing they have a messaging nightmare on their hands. The issues voters care most about — rising gas prices, inflation, healthcare costs — have consumed the nation's attention while Congress accomplished little.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise attempted to project confidence, but his words revealed underlying anxiety.

"All of these issues will come up. I mean, Iran will absolutely come up," he acknowledged Thursday. "Cost of living comes up. Safety and security, border security comes up. All of them come up, you know, and that's why it's important to remind people that we're addressing those issues."

As Politico reported, Republicans aren't addressing these issues effectively, and voters know it. The Iran war continues bleeding American resources and driving up fuel prices and the economy remains a "disaster" for working families.

"The timing of the war powers vote right as members were leaving town — where among the four Republicans defecting was Rep. Tom Barrett, a vulnerable incumbent fighting to hold onto his competitive Michigan seat — had an unsettling effect among some House GOP lawmakers already spooked by poll numbers appearing to favor Democrats for a takeover in 2027," according to the report.

“We have a hell of a lot of work to do, that’s clear,” one House Republican who was granted anonymity told Politico.

GOP infighting erupts as MAGA Republicans scream at each other behind closed doors

Two MAGA lawmakers got into a heated exchange on Thursday during a closed-door meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson in the fallout over a bipartisan veterans bill, according to reports.

Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA) reportedly screamed at Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) and told her not to interrupt him inside the Speaker’s ceremonial office off the House floor just after Luna and Reps. Max Miller (R-OH), Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) and Victoria Spartz (R-IN) voted with Democrats to recommit the bill to committee, Punchbowl News reported.

The move "would’ve let the minority win a major procedural vote," and "GOP leaders were able to flip Spartz — they’re always able to do that — to win the procedural vote, but then they yanked the bill," according to Punchbowl News.

Sources told the outlet that several Republicans were frustrated by the revolt from the GOP lawmakers as they tried to flip holdouts and asked Luna to come to the office to meet with Johnson and other Republicans.

Nunn, who is a veteran and supporter of the bill, yelled at Luna over her decision. He apparently did not think she was serious about the bill.

"Luna said she didn’t want to cut veterans’ benefits and didn’t take kindly to the conversation. She left the room and later the House floor," Punchbowl News reported.

"Luna had concerns that others shared — that the legislation would cut veterans’ benefits. The House GOP leadership suspected the bill would fail going into today, yet they rolled the dice. This was a bill that House Majority Whip Tom Emmer’s team whipped," according to Punchbowl News.

Van Drew told Republican leaders that "If you’re going to punish me, punish me," in response to the vote.

NEW -- ANNA PAULINA LUNA and ZACH NUNN had a very heated interaction in the Speaker's ceremonial office over the veterans bill.

NUNN screamed at Luna and told her to not interrupt him.

MORE in the Midday edition out shortly.
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) July 16, 2026

House Republicans blindsided by Camp David meeting fume after finding out about sleepover

House GOP leaders were furious with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) as more details emerged about the Camp David meeting snub that left Republican lawmakers blindsided, according to reports Tuesday.

The meetings over budget reconciliation apparently took place Monday and left out Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) and Rep. Erin Houchin (R-IN), two members of leadership on the budget committee, NOTUS politics reporter Reese Gorman wrote in a post on X.

Some moderate Republicans have reportedly not been included in any talks about the third reconciliation bill, NOTUS reported.

"If they want to pass something, they gotta know how to count the 218," Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) told NOTUS. "So again, I haven’t seen anything."

"When some members who were left out of the Camp David meeting confronted Johnson about it, he said the session with administration officials was only a couple hours long, a source told NOTUS, though members later found out that some of the group actually spent the night at Camp David, leading to more anger," Gorman wrote.

A White House official told NOTUS that they were planning "additional engagements" for more members.

"There were limited spots for this engagement," the official said.

Houchin was defiant in her response on Tuesday after she voiced her anger over getting left out of the Camp David meeting. She told lawmakers at a House Republican Conference meeting that "she was the whipping NO on the budget resolution," reported Jake Sherman, founder of Punchbowl News.

"She said she is a no because she wasn't included in convos and wasn't invited to the meeting at Camp David," Sherman wrote on X.

Jim Jordan backed into a corner to tame rebel Republican to end House meltdown: report

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) admitted Tuesday that he was in negotiations with a Republican lawmaker to try to end infighting within the party over immigration, Politico reported on Tuesday.

Jordan was hoping to strike a deal with Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), who has led a group of staunch conservatives who believe Republicans have stalled on a border crackdown vote.

"The talks, Jordan said, have included potentially using a bill cracking down on so-called sanctuary cities that has already advanced out of the Judiciary Committee as a base, then adding elements of the much broader bill Roy is pushing," according to Politico.

"I think that’s just good policy and would be helpful, so we’re looking at that," Jordan told Politico.

It's unclear how Roy would respond, especially since he said Monday that "he was not yet satisfied with how party leaders were responding to his demands," Politico reported.

The House was expected to vote Tuesday on a procedural measure to reopen the floor.

Majority Leader Steve Scalise conceded the GOP is "not in agreement" on what comes next, according to Politico.

Moderates in the party were just as wary, demanding guestworker program protections for farms in return.

In a separate revolt, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) appeared to have defused frustration from other GOP holdouts after Rep. Anna Paulina Luna agreed to stand down — for now — over demands to attach the stalled SAVE America Act to must-pass legislation heading to the Senate, Politico reported.

Republican snubbed from Camp David meet takes her revenge out on GOP budget

A Republican lawmaker apparently frustrated over getting left out was ready to get even, according to reports.

Rep. Erin Houchin (R-IN) was defiant during the House Republican Conference meeting on Tuesday and said "she was the whipping NO on the budget resolution," reported Jake Sherman, founder of Punchbowl News.

Houchin, who is a member of the Budget Committee, described her reasons.

"She said she is a no because she wasn't included in convos and wasn't invited to the meeting at Camp David," Sherman wrote on X. "HOUCHIN has a vote in the Budget Committee, a vote in the House Rules Committee and a vote on the floor."

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) met with other GOP leaders on Monday at Camp David to discuss a reconciliation bill that is primarily funded by cuts to funding for Medicare, Medicaid and several other social service programs, Politico reported.

House Republicans were pushing a third reconciliation package in Congress, according to The Washington Post. The move followed one bill that cut taxes at a cost of roughly $3.4 trillion over 10 years and another that approved nearly $70 billion for immigration enforcement, funding those agencies through the remainder of Trump's term.

This latest push would combine $350 billion in fresh Pentagon spending with the Save America Act, which would require voters to present proof of citizenship and ID at the polls, The Post reported. The GOP effort was up against a tight legislative calendar, since the House is set to leave Washington at the end of next week for the August recess, while the Senate departs Aug. 7 until mid-September, leaving a small window to finish the process before the midterms.

Republican senator scoffs at House GOP's 'super cute' bullying threat

The war between House Republicans and their counterparts in the Senate over passing Donald Trump’s SAVE America Act shows no sign of ending as the House leadership has attempted to do the president’s bidding, resorting to threats.

According to MS NOW’s Mychael Schnell, one Republican senator whose vote would be needed was curt and dismissive of the idea that embattled House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) thinks he will come out on top when the votes simply aren’t there.

Now Johnson has started attempting a Hail Mary: pushing pieces of the voting legislation through budget reconciliation, announcing plans for a federal fund that states could use to implement parts of the bill.

"The only way to get that to the president's desk, we've been shown many times, is to put it on a reconciliation bill, so that is in process," Johnson told MS NOW last week.

Senate Republicans aren't buying it.

Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) was blunt about the reconciliation fantasy: "It can't. If it could, we'd already be talking about it. Let's just stop playing games. Let's stop being dishonest."

When a reporter suggested the House might pressure the Senate by blocking other legislation, Tillis curtly replied, "That's super cute."

Even retiring Republicans in the House are done pretending Trump's strategy is workable.

"He wants to go it alone, his way to the highway, and it don't work," Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) told reporters."He's trying to pound the square peg through the circle, and it doesn't work."

With only a handful of legislative weeks before midterms, some Republicans are quietly suggesting "an alternative" to actually accomplish something.

"The right thing to do, frankly, is you got voter ID, you can pass that, so take a win," Bacon suggested.

James Comer slams House GOP hardliners on CNN: 'Don't know when to declare victory'

Rep. James Comer (R-KY) slammed his own GOP colleagues for shutting down a compromise from the House Speaker.

CNN anchor Jake Tapper opened a segment on "The Lead" about GOP hardliners voting down Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-LA) effort to attach Trump's favored proof-of-citizenship voting bill, the Save America Act, to a must-pass defense bill as an amendment. He noted that they blocked it by tanking the procedural vote.

"I've had to deal with a few of these Republicans that continue to tank the procedural votes," Comer said. "We can't even vote on the bill, much less debate a bill."

Comer admitted that it's "very frustrating to be in Congress right now," and called out Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) for leading the rejection of Johnson's amendment.

"I felt like Speaker Johnson gave them what they initially asked for, even though we've already passed the Save America Act," which is in the Senate. However, Comer noted that Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said, "They don't have the votes to pass it."

According to Comer, it wasn't the only time he felt like the GOP hurt itself. He continued his criticism of GOP colleagues in the House by telling Tapper, "Sometimes, I feel like some of the Republicans don't know when to declare victory in many of the crusades that they lead."

Sighing in exasperation, Comer added, "I believe in the cause, but punishing the House for inaction in the Senate is not a good strategy for Republicans."

'Wow': CNN anchor shocked 'on a number of levels' by GOP's immigration meltdown

A CNN anchor was shocked by a montage of Republican outrage over the Supreme Court rebuffing their immigration demands.

Kasie Hunt opened her Tuesday episode of The Arena with a segment about the Supreme Court's 6-3 vote to block Trump from unilaterally ending birthright citizenship. The segment featured a clip with GOP reactions to the "stinging loss," as Hunt described it.

"This decision that John Roberts authored is bad on the level of Dred Scott, or Roe v. Wade," Fox News commentator Mollie Hemingway was shown saying.

"I adamantly disagree with the spirit of the Fourteenth Amendment," Department of Homeland Security Sec. Markwayne Mullin was shown saying, also on Fox News.

"I'm very disappointed in the outcome," House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) told the press in another clip.

"This is one quiver in the president's group of arrows removed from him," Judge Andrew Napolitano was shown saying.

"You've got the ultimate conclusion of the Bush Era, was this John Roberts [decision]," Steve Bannon said. "He gave it to you, baby, right between the eyes. How do you like it? Suck on that."

After that series of reactions, Hunt said, "Wow, on a number of levels," and later added while speaking to CNN legal analyst Elie Honig that it was "fairly remarkable to hear the Dred Scott case referenced in any positive way anywhere."

Mike Johnson lets out literal 'growl' when asked about Supreme Court ruling against Trump

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) let out a growling sound when a reporter told him in real-time that the Supreme Court had rejected President Donald Trump's birthright citizenship executive order.

Johnson was attending a House Republican Caucus meeting and spoke to reporters when he was told about the high court's decision to uphold birthright citizenship.

"Oh dear, what'd they rule?" Johnson asked.

A reporter read the high court's decision — and Johnson let out an audible groaning sound.

"I need to read the opinion, OK. But you can say that's a textualist, originalist view," Johnson said.

"I do think this has been grossly abused in recent years," he added.

an unhappy Mike Johnson growls when informed in real time by a reporter that the Supreme Court ruled to uphold birthright citizenship pic.twitter.com/VYMw0krto6
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 30, 2026

Mike Johnson just revealed his true 'panic' with 'astonishing' remarks: ex-GOP operative

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson's recent "protection program" comment reveals his true fear, according to an ex-GOP operative.

Johnson's comments came at the Faith and Freedom Coalition's annual conference on Friday, where he said, "I run the protection program. I'll take care of you." Johnson made the remark in the context of a warning about electing Democrats in the midterms, which he said will lead to committees investigating Trump along with his family, Cabinet, donors and allies.

According to a Saturday piece by Steve Schmidt, the "extraordinary" and "astonishing" remarks reveal that "Mike Johnson is panicking" about accountability.

"Mike Johnson isn't panicked because he believes innocent people will be persecuted," Schmidt wrote. "He's panicked because he understands that accountability may finally be coming to Washington."

Johnson's speech "sounds like dialogue written for Burgess Meredith playing the Penguin in the old 'Batman' TV series," Schmidt continued.

"He knows there will be subpoenas. He knows there will be hearings. He knows there will be oversight," Schmidt wrote. "He knows investigators will begin asking questions that should have been asked years ago — and he knows the answers may be devastating."

Schmidt predicted that if a Democratic majority "should reclaim the Speaker's gavel in the House" after the November midterms, they would "understand the assignment."