CLEAN-UP ON AISLE ELISE: Stefanik Stresses ‘Productive’ Talk With Mike Johnson After WSJ Publishes Scathing Criticism
(Rod Lamkey/AP photos)
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) stressed that she had a “productive” conversation with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Wednesday afternoon, repeating herself shortly after The Wall Street Journal reported on withering comments she had made about Johnson the night before.
“He certainly wouldn’t have the votes to be speaker if there was a roll-call vote tomorrow. I believe that the majority of Republicans would vote for new leadership. It’s that widespread,” Stefanik told the Journal, which reported that:
Stefanik painted Johnson’s standing with Republicans as in a state of collapse. She cited matters ranging from members criticizing his decision to keep lawmakers in their home districts during the recent government shutdown, to weak showings in special elections and to what she casts as his failure to address the expected jump in healthcare costs if the party doesn’t reach an agreement with Democrats soon.
“Whereas Kevin McCarthy was a political animal, Mike Johnson is a political novice and boy does it show, with the House Republicans underperforming for the first time in the Trump era,” added Stefanik.
Prior to the publication of the Journal story, Stefanik had signaled that the pair’s feud had come to an end by tweeting, “Great news! After a productive discussion I had last night with President Trump and Speaker Johnson, the provision requiring Congressional disclosure when the FBI opens counterintelligence investigations into presidential and federal candidates seeking office will be included in the IAA/NDAA bill on the floor.”
After her comments the previous evening were made public — and attracted significant attention online — Stefanik restated her appreciation of their talk.
“As I stated in an interview this morning and just now when asked by reporters, I had a very productive conversation with Speaker Johnson last night and I shared my views that House Republicans need to focus on delivering results to the American people,” she wrote on X. “We had a great breakthrough on an important NDAA provision and are moving forward to address the affordability and safety issues impacting NY and the country.”
