Meet the New Boss, Mike Johnson, Same as the Old Boss

Ringside Politics host Jeff Crouere’s weekly column of political commentary.

It has happened again, a once promising Republican House Speaker has turned into a “Deep State” operative. Yes, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), has followed in the footsteps of former Republican House Speakers John Boehner, Paul Ryan, and Kevin McCarthy.

All these former House speakers were once labeled “conservatives,” but after assuming the top position in Congress, their policies changed, resulting in grassroots anger. Unfortunately, none of these House Speakers cared about hard working Americans, both Republicans and Democrats. Instead, they were far more concerned about doing the bidding of the “Deep State.”

Sadly, the same thing has happened to the current House Speaker. According to exiled whistleblower and former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, Johnson’s change of heart is due to “a textbook case of Congressional capture.” He tweeted, “With a single briefing, the intelligence agencies routinely transform their most strident critics into the tamest of cheerleaders.”

At one time, Johnson was regarded as a staunch supporter of the “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) movement. In fact, his nickname was “MAGA Mike.” His lifetime Heritage Action voting record was 90%, but, in this session of Congress, it has plummeted to 53%.

As House Speaker, Johnson supported the horrific omnibus spending bill, which fully funded the Department of Justice and the FBI, which has been weaponized against President Donald Trump and MAGA supporters. He was the deciding vote in extending FISA powers, allowing our intelligence services to spy on Americans without a warrant.

Previously, Johnson had railed against omnibus spending bills and extending FISA surveillance powers, but, in a stunning twist, his positions changed as House Speaker.

In his latest betrayal, Johnson supported a $95 billion aid package for Taiwan, Israel, and Ukraine. The bulk of the package, $61 billion, was targeted to assist Ukraine fend off the Russian invasion, which began in February of 2022.

Previously, the United States has authorized $113 billion for Ukraine, more than the rest of the world combined. Once again, Johnson had previously opposed such funding. He also vowed to make sure that our border was secure before sending billions of dollars to secure the border of another country.

Sadly, on Saturday, with the help of Democrats and a minority of his Republican colleagues, Johnson rammed through the foreign aid package, which supported other countries, while providing zero assistance to our Border Patrol.

The spectacle disgusted Brandon Judd, President of the National Border Patrol Council. He told Bill Melugin of Fox News, “We are beyond disappointed that the House would give aid to secure the borders of foreign countries but gave nothing to allow the Border Patrol to secure the safety of the United States. There’s nothing more backwards.”

In the raucous aftermath of the vote, Democrats celebrated the passage of the foreign aid package and the exclusion of border funding by waving Ukrainian flags on the House floor. This disgusting display just reinforced the feeling of many Americans that Congress is more concerned about foreign nations than American citizens.

At least some Republicans in Congress denounced this outrageous exhibition. U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) tweeted, “Ukrainian flags fly in the chamber of the UNITED STATES House of Representatives as they vote to send more of your hard-earned money to a corrupt foreign regime. And just like that they shout “UKRAINE! UKRAINE!” while happily working to secure Ukraine’s borders, not ours.”

Congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY) also condemned the Ukrainian flag celebration, referring to it as “the U.S. House of Representatives under the direction of Speaker Mike Johnson. Democrats are celebrating his total capitulation with no victory for securing our border.”

The optics of the Ukrainian flag waving was so nauseating that Congresswoman Kat Cammack (R-FL) promised to introduce legislation to prohibit such displays in the future. Referring to the House floor, Cammack tweeted, “If there is one room in our country that should only have the American flag present, it is this room.”

There were 101 Republicans who supported Ukrainian aid while 112 Republicans opposed the expensive package. Even though the majority of House Republicans dissented, Johnson ensured its passage. Resisting the will of most of his Republican colleagues, and millions of  GOP activists nationwide, has become a hallmark of Johnson’s tenure as House Speaker.

By supporting legislation that most Republicans oppose, Johnson is walking on thin ice politically. When Congress returns from their latest recess, U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) could proceed with her “motion to vacate.”

She tweeted,  “Mike Johnson betrayed America once again. After doing nothing to secure America’s Southern border, reauthorizing FISA to spy on the American people without a warrant, fully funding Joe Biden’s DOJ that has indicted President Trump 91 times and giving Biden’s political gestapo a brand-new FBI building bigger than the Pentagon, Speaker Johnson just sent $61 billion to fund the proxy war against Russia in Ukraine. House Republicans and the American people would be stronger without his disloyalty and betrayal of his principles. Now it’s time for my colleagues to go home and hear from their constituents. We need a new Speaker of the House!”

Greene knows that Republicans will give their representatives an earful about this debacle. It could motivate more of them to support her motion. However, even if many Republicans favor her efforts to remove Johnson, the Democrats could very well save him.

For example, Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) agreed with Johnson on the Ukraine aid package and condemned House Republicans who opposed the legislation. He said that “Some say…deal with our border first. The Ukrainian-Russian border is our border!” He tweeted, “we must stand shoulder to shoulder with our Ukrainian brothers and sisters.”

What about our American “brothers and sisters” who live in border states like Texas? Do we care that they are being overrun by millions of noncitizens and the invasion has spread nationwide?

Tragically, for Connolly, Johnson and other “Deep State” operatives in Congress, foreign wars take precedence over the needs of the American people.

Jeff Crouere is a native New Orleanian and his award-winning program, “Ringside Politics,” airs Saturdays from Noon until 1 p.m. CT nationally on Real America’s Voice TV Network & AmericasVoice.News and weekdays from 7-11 a.m. CT on WGSO 990-AM & Wgso.com. He is a political columnist, the author of America’s Last Chance and provides regular commentaries on the Jeff Crouere YouTube channel and on Crouere.net. For more information, email him at jcrouere@gmail.com

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