GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik is feuding with House Speaker Mike Johnson after legislation she pushed for years related to Russia and the 2016 election was removed from the National Defense Authorization Act, the main defense policy law.
Stefanik's legislation would require the FBI to notify Congress whenever the bureau begins an investigation into a political candidate seeking federal office. On Monday she complained by X that her longstanding provision had been removed from the NDAA and that she would vote against the bill as a result.
“Unless this provision is added back into the bill to prevent the intelligence community from being illegally weaponized politically in our elections, I am a resounding NO. I have always voted for defense and intelligence authorization bills, but nothing more,” Stefanik wrote in a lengthy post. “It is a scandalous disgrace that the Republicans are allowing themselves to be deceived by the Democrats and the Deep State on this issue.”
Johnson was unhappy tell Punchbowl Tuesday's Jake Sherman: “It's all a lie.”
“I don't know exactly why Eliza didn't just call me. I texted her yesterday. She's upset, I think one of her provisions isn't in the NDAA… As soon as I heard about this yesterday, I was campaigning in Tennessee, and I texted her and said, 'What are you talking about?' It didn’t even get to my level,” Johnson said.
This seemed to upset Stefanik even more. She ranted on X: “Another lie from the Speaker.”
“And, as you might expect, the Speaker messaged me yesterday claiming that he “knows nothing about this.” Yes, that's right. This is his favorite tactic to let members know when he’s caught undermining the Republican agenda,” Stefanik wrote, complaining that Johnson was “sided” with Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin.
Losing Stefanik's vote on the NDAA, a major defense appropriations bill that must be passed every year, could be disastrous for Johnson given that Republicans hold only a narrow two-vote majority in the House. Stefanik also has the support of fellow House Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, who published on X On Tuesday: “No surprises. As usual from the speaker, promises are kept, promises are broken. We all know that,” the message quotes Stefanik.
Stefanik will no longer be in Congress because she has launched her own campaign for governor of New York. Meanwhile, she's not keeping quiet, and Johnson has to worry that her feelings could spread through the GOP caucus, especially other House Republicans. I'm looking at the exits.
