Mother Jones
Should Trump Get $10 Billion in Apology Money? Mike Johnson Hasn’t Thought About It.
Apparently House Speaker Mike Johnson doesn’t believe that Congress needs any oversight of President Trump’s actions.
During a Tuesday press conference honoring law enforcement officers as part of Police Week, Johnson dismissed a question about the Justice Department potentially settling Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service—essentially the federal government handing a $10 billion ransom in taxpayer dollars directly to the president.
“One of the things that is not in my purview is the Department of Justice, okay?” Johnson said, asked whether a settlement with Trump by an agency he runs represents a conflict of interest. “I haven’t thought about that or read into it.”
“Go ask the executive branch about it, alright?” Johnson concluded, before reminding everyone to celebrate Police Week.
Q: Do you think the DOJ ought to settle the president's $10b lawsuit? Is there a conflict of interest?MIKE JOHNSON: Um. One of the things that is not in my purview is the DOJ, ok? I haven't thought about that or read into it. I got enough to say grace over every day. Go ask the executive branch.
The speaker’s response was yet another instance of his perennial shrugging off oflegislative responsibility to appease Trump. Johnson had a key role in passing cuts to essential health and food assistance programs—in large part due to accusations of “fraud and abuse”—but appears more than willing to let Trump raid government coffers on a multibillion-dollar scale.