Mike Johnson runs to Trump as MAGA Republican seizes 'control' of Congress: report
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) ran to President Donald Trump for help with Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) after she hijacked the House and derailed his agenda.
Luna has frozen all floor votes until the Senate passes the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act — Trump's elections overhaul that has stalled for months. Johnson met with Trump at the White House on Thursday, seeking a way out, according to a Politico report.
She enjoys Oval Office walk-in privileges, the report said. But Johnson had to book an appointment.
"The speaker talks to the president a lot. But Luna talks to him more," one House Republican told the outlet, speaking anonymously.
During a fight over a cryptocurrency bill last year, Luna walked out of a Treasury Department meeting, went straight to the White House, and into the Oval Office. Trump brought the whole group in and handed hard-liners a concession, the report said.
"Luna has more operational control around here than most anyone," a second House Republican said anonymously.
"It's not my job to play trust games with the Senate when they've actively betrayed our trust multiple times," Luna told the outlet. "Plus, the president's on my side."
The blockade is now threatening the annual defense bill and erasing two weeks of floor time.
"She's going to have to start being a team player here," Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) fumed. "You can't be a team of one."
Johnson is expected to pitch Trump a compromise — a grant program nudging states toward stricter voter ID rules. Luna has already shot it down as insufficient, the report said.
"I'm going to talk with the president about these issues and how to get the agenda moving again," Johnson told reporters Thursday. He did not mention Luna by name.
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