- News
- World
- Americas
- US politics
The New York congresswoman asserted that the House speaker did not have support among Republican lawmakers, called him a liar and ‘political novice’ and insinuated he wasn’t close with Trump before backpedaling
Ariana BaioWednesday 03 December 2025 22:25 GMTComments
open image in galleryRep. Elise Stefanik, a Trump ally, managed to get her provision back into a defense bill after publicly insulting Speaker Mike Johnson (Getty Images)
Sign 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
Email*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice
Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York managed to secure a legislative win Wednesday after publicly insulting House Speaker Mike Johnson as a “political novice” and claiming he did not have enough support among Republican lawmakers to remain as leader.
Stefanik, a close ally of President Donald Trump, had picked the fight with Johnson a day earlier, accusing him of lying, questioning his leadership, asserting he was not close with Trump and threatening to withhold her much-needed support on a defense spending bill.
“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,” Stefanik said in a scathing interview with the Wall Street Journal.
Her ire, sparked because the defense bill did not include her provision on FBI surveillance, caught Johnson by surprise.
But roughly 24 hours after venting her outrage publicly — and getting what she wanted — she walked back the harsh comments.
open image in galleryRep Elise Stefanik, a Trump ally, managed to get her provision back into a defense bill after publicly insulting Speaker Mike Johnson (Getty Images)“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,” Stefanik 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 New York and the country.”
The provision Stefanik wanted would require the FBI to notify Congress of investigations into presidential or federal candidates seeking office. Stefanik has been working on the provision for years.
The New York congresswoman, who is currently running for governor, said she spoke with Trump as well as Johnson over the phone Tuesday evening to secure the provision back into the National Defense Authorization Act.
Stefanik is among the most fervent supporters of Trump. The president initially nominated her to serve as ambassador to the United Nations but had to rescind her nomination given Republicans’ narrow majority in the House.
Tensions between Stefanik and Johnson have been at a low boil since then. She reportedly blamed Johnson for getting her nomination pulled, according to Punchbowl News. Johnson and the White House have denied the allegation.
open image in galleryJohnson has been under pressure to keep his party aligned amid contentious infighting (Getty Images)But Stefanik’s frustration with Johnson appeared to be on full display Tuesday. In addition to accusing Johnson of being a “novice,” she asserted that he “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 WSJ.
Stefanik’s comments were a particular blow because Johnson has been facing pushback from other MAGA allies, including former Trump ally Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
After being forced to bring the Epstein files vote to the House floor in November via discharge petition, Johnson may have his hand forced again. Members of his own party are trying to bring forward legislation that would ban members of Congress from stock trading.
Stefanik has signaled she would support such legislation.
More about
Elise StefanikMike JohnsonMAGADonald TrumpJoin our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments
