House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) held a meeting with Donald Trump at the former president’s residence in Florida on Monday, as per multiplereports.
Johnson’s visit is further indication of congressional Republicans’ unwavering loyalty to Trump, despite the ex-president facing multiple criminal cases. The meeting mirrors former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s trip to Mar-a-Lago shortly after Trump incited the U.S. Capitol riot in January 2021.
Representatives for Johnson and Trump did not reply to requests for confirmation of the meeting.
Leading the House Republican conference involves a delicate balancing act of appeasing ardent Trump supporters and not overly distancing moderate Republicans. McCarthy lost the speaker’s gavel last month after failing to appease far-right lawmakers by not heeding Trump’s recommendation to shut down the government as he had suggested.
Johnson himself provoked the ire of right-wingers by not following Trump’s recommendation to shut down the government this month, but has not faced significant repercussions so far. Last week, he fulfilled a key hardliner demand by releasing security camera footage from the Capitol during the January 2021 riot, which Trump supporters used to propagate baseless conspiracy theories putting the blame on shadowy actors for the attack.
Last week in an interview on CNBC, Johnson voiced his support for Trump’s bid to reclaim the White House. When questioned about Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election and concerns about democracy, Johnson advised voters to focus on policy and more local issues.
“I think you set aside those things and you look at what is best for your family, you look at what is best for your security, your safety, the economy, your pocketbook, all of these things,” Johnson said. “We have to make radical changes.”
