Speaker Mike Johnson’s live call-in appearance on C-SPAN quickly turned into a public flogging, as voters from across the political spectrum—including an emotional Republican military mom—berated him over a myriad of issues.
The Louisiana Republican looked visibly tense as caller after caller unloaded on him during the rare televised segment on the Washington Journal, the first time a House speaker had taken live questions from voters on the network in 24 years.
The most searing exchange came from “Samantha,” a self-described Republican military mother calling from Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Fighting back tears, she accused Johnson of failing troops and their families as a missed paycheck deadline loomed.
“I’m begging you to pass this legislation,” she said. “My kids could die.”
Samantha said her husband, a veteran with PTSD after two tours in Afghanistan, was struggling to keep their family afloat. “As a Republican, I’m very disappointed in my party, and I’m very disappointed in you,” she continued. “You could stop this. You could be the one to say, ‘Military is getting paid.’ The audacity of someone who makes six figures a year to do this to military families is insane.”
Johnson, maintaining a measured tone, told her he was “so sorry” and “so angry” about her situation—before blaming Senate Democrats for blocking troop funding. “Democrats are the ones preventing you from getting a check,” he said, calling any House vote on a standalone pay bill a “show vote.”
Military personnel will not receive their first paycheck since the shutdown, scheduled for Oct. 15, if Congress doesn’t take action.
The apology did little to stop the pile-on. Other callers pressed Johnson on Republican efforts to gut Medicaid, rising rural hospital closures, and Donald Trump’s threats to deploy military troops in U.S. cities.
A caller from Texas demanded to know the GOP’s plan to fix the Affordable Care Act. “Great question,” Johnson said, pausing before conceding that “Obamacare did not do what was promised” and that it’s “very, very complicated” to replace. He added that Trump “wants to fix the health care system,” saying they’d spoken “as recently as yesterday.”
Another caller blasted his claim that residents in cities patrolled by the National Guard were “happy” with the deployments, calling it “dystopian.”
“It feels dystopian and insane to hear you say that while watching the response to it,” Sam, a Democrat from Denver, Colorado, said.
Johnson’s demeanor grew increasingly ashen as the segment wore on. One Republican caller offered brief praise for his “courage” under fire. But moments later, another accused him of holding up the swearing-in of Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) for partisan reasons—a charge he denied, saying Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer “holds the cards” until the government reopens.
This same caller, Alexander from Maryland, also said that Donald Trump is a “dictator,” something Johnson addressed directly. “President Trump is not a dictator,” he responded.
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