House Speaker Mike Johnson squirmed awkwardly as he struggled to push back on President Trump’s demand that Republicans “go nuclear” in the government shutdown fight.
The visibly uneasy speaker was pressed at his daily press conference Monday about Trump’s all-caps Truth Social post urging an end to the filibuster.
“I talked to the president multiple times over the weekend I mentioned, and of course the filibuster came up. This is a Senate matter. It has nothing to do with the House,” Johnson insisted awkwardly. “Everyone wants to know what my opinion is. My opinion is irrelevant.”
Johnson then went on to pin his opinion on Senate Republicans and explained why some Senate conservatives have opposed ending the filibuster, calling it an important safeguard.
The speaker said he has shared his thoughts with the president, but it does not appear Trump took his advice to heart.
On Sunday, Trump fired off a Truth Social post demanding Republicans “terminate the filibuster” not only for the shutdown but “for everything else,” a move that would eliminate the 60-vote threshold for passing legislation.
“WE WILL GET ALL OF OUR COMMON SENSE POLICIES APPROVED (VOTER ID, ANYONE?) AND MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump wrote.
He went on to claim Democrats would end the filibuster, but when they did control the Senate as recently last year, they did not.
Johnson admitted he’s long wanted to “blow up” the filibuster as a House member, but cautioned that doing so could backfire on Senate Republicans.
“What would the Democrats do if they had not filibuster impediment, no speed bump at all?” Johnson asked.
The speaker claimed Democrats would pack the Supreme Court, make DC and Puerto Rico states giving them four more Democratic senators, and restrict the 2nd Amendment and federalize elections.
“There’s a lot of abuses that could come, and so that’s the caveat,” Johnson insisted.
The speaker claimed he has been very frank with the president on the issue, but he also justified the pressure to end the filibuster.
He called the debate taking place within the GOP a “reflection” on the anger and “real desperation” that they feel over the government shutdown.
The shutdown is approaching the longest in U.S. history this week, but the president appears uninterested in making a deal with Democrats.
Trump even attended a Great Gatsby themed party at Mar-a-Lago over the weekend as millions of Americans face skyrocketing healthcare and going hungry, while federal workers don’t receive paychecks.
The post Mike Johnson Awkwardly Pushes Back on Trump’s All-Caps Demand appeared first on The Daily Beast.
