Far-right House members suggest Mike Johnson’s woes may not be over
The IndependentSign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Even with Trump’s backing of Mike Johnson, conservative grievances threaten to derail incoming GOP Congress Molinaro, who recently conceded his House race in New York, told reporters of the president’s remarks: “The President was relaxed and funny today, and it was refreshing. “So hopefully, though, everyone can unify behind the President’s agenda.” House members will convene at the beginning of next year to select a new speaker for the chamber; traditionally, the two parties determine their respective nominees in private conference meetings like the one Wednesday. He declined to say on Wednesday how he’d vote in the speaker’s race, but blasted the speaker for holding a “neocon” worldview and Johnson’s reversal on support for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which libertarians and progressives have argued constitutes severe government overreach into individual privacy rights — Massie called the speaker’s flip-flop a “betrayal.” “Well, I’m still trying to get over the betrayal on FISA, where he flipped 180 degrees, said he was in a SCIF and he learned things in the SCIF. Trump, in the House Republican conference meeting on Wednesday, gave Johnson his full backing: “I’m with him all the way.” House GOP members in leadership are also already publicly playing offense against any would-be malcontents.