Congress

Conservatives fall in line behind Mike Johnson ahead of speaker race

Published

2 years ago

December 15, 2024

Mike Johnson’s speakership appeared to be on life support seven months ago. Now, even his biggest antagonists are preparing to back him as the party enters the second Trump era.

It didn’t happen by accident — Johnson’s been working diligently behind the scenes to solidify support. According to interviews with roughly a dozen lawmakers, his improved fortunes are attributable to three main factors, all things he’s played an active role in: Bringing his defectors into the fold and hearing them out, punting a huge funding fight into early next year and securing President-elect Donald Trump’s endorsement.

That last one was particularly key, and Johnson, knowing that was the case, had aligned himself closely with Trump for months. Once the president-elect endorsed the speaker in November, most of Johnson’s opposition gradually melted away. Hard-liners considering a long-shot bid against him have now opted against it, wary of crossing the president-elect. At this point, Johnson says he and Trump talk constantly — and their continued alignment will have huge impacts not only on the speaker’s future, but also on the GOP’s ambitious legislative agenda.

“I would vote for him today,” said Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), who mounted symbolic challenges to Kevin McCarthy for the speakership and voted to advance an ouster effort against Johnson earlier this year. “I just don’t think we need a distraction right now at this point. He’s been more accessible for me to talk to and bellyache and moan to.”

Two of the three Republicans who tried to force a vote to boot Johnson in May, Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), now say they’ll support Johnson in January. Gosar told Blue Light News that he would vote for Johnson but added, “I just think he’s got to take some stuff further.” The third lawmaker in that group, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), said he is still making up his mind.

“I’m still talking to Mike Johnson about that,” Massie said in a recent interview.

Johnson isn’t totally in the clear yet, given he’ll have almost no room for error in January. No Democrats are going to help him, which means he can have only one Republican vote against him and still become speaker. And beyond Massie, there’s still a few who either aren’t tipping their hand or are undecided on backing Johnson, like Reps. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) and Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.).

Hard-liners considering a long-shot bid against Johnson have now opted against it, wary of crossing President-elect Donald Trump.

Still, despite some of their colleagues keeping their options open, four conservatives told Blue Light News that they don’t expect any Republican to oppose Johnson on the floor.

“I don’t think there’s going to be a speaker’s race. … Right now, he has overwhelming support and he’s supported Trump,” said Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.), adding that “something fairly egregious” would have to happen for Johnson to lose. And he thinks that’s unlikely.

Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), who opened the door to opposing Johnson earlier this year, added that House Republicans are “ready to move forward. I don’t think there’s an appetite to have a speaker fight. People like Mike.”

He also acknowledged what has been a yearslong problem for leadership rebels: “Who are you going to get? Who wants it?”

While conservatives had weighed putting up a symbolic challenger to the speaker in an internal conference vote last month, they ultimately backtracked after they secured a deal on the conference’s internal rules. After that, Johnson received unanimous backing from his party to be the GOP speaker nominee — a once-unthinkable feat. Trump, who showed up before the meeting, backed him just ahead of the vote.

After that vote, momentum kept moving in Johnson’s favor. Greene kept the door open to backing Johnson for the full floor vote, before publicly saying earlier this month that she intends to support him. The speaker had met privately with Greene to discuss her role in the conference, with the Louisiana Republican saying he wanted her to be more involved. She was later given a prominent post leading a subpanel that will work with the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, though Johnson and the House Oversight chair deny the GOP leader was involved in that decision.

Johnson, during an interview on “The Bret Baier Podcast,” said that he wasn’t worried about the Jan. 3 speaker race, adding: “Look, we have a unified conference. I’ve talked with every single individual at great length. … I think we’ll have a smooth transition, a smooth election as speaker.”

There are still some traps remaining that Johnson will need to avoid.

Conservatives are still watching closely to see how Johnson handles a Dec. 20 government funding deadline, including the details of any disaster aid money. If Johnson had agreed to a mammoth end-of-year spending bill, known as an omnibus, it could have sparked conservative ire at the worst time for the speaker. Though some members of the right flank voted against a huge defense policy bill last week, Johnson included enough conservative wins that he kept blowback to a minimum.

Others dismiss the idea that Johnson is in danger. Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.), the former Interior secretary during Trump’s first administration, said the speaker and president-elect are working in lockstep on legislative goals, including Johnson’s spending plan.

And others are still declining to say how they plan to vote on Jan. 3 as they negotiate their own positions next year.

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) publicly threw his hat into the ring for Rules Committee chair last week, a position Johnson selects unilaterally. The Texas conservative declined to discuss how he would vote next month, noting that “we’re still working through how we’re organized” but added they were having active discussions in a “positive way.”

“I expect that we’re all going to be united come Jan. 3,” Roy added. “Mike has been good about working with all of us.”

Congress

Mamdani boosts congressional slate ahead of primary election

Published

16 hours ago

June 19, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

NEW YORK — With just five days to go until the primary election in New York, Mayor Zohran Mamdani issued a stark warning to members of Congress who believe “incumbency is a substitute for action”: Watch out.

“People often ask me what I think of the state of the Democratic Party,” Mamdani said to the crowd at the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn as he boosted his endorsed congressional candidates. “This slate here today is our answer. The Democratic Party must change.”

The democratic socialist framed Tuesday’s election as much more than what that means for New York, though. In recounting how people also ask him about the 2028 presidential election, he put it bluntly: “It starts now. It starts on Tuesday.”

“For far too long, our party has seen its job as managing decline instead of delivering material change for working people,” Mamdani said. “That old way of thinking will lose on Tuesday. And frankly, it will lose in South Carolina and New Hampshire. It will fall short of 270 electoral votes, because the party of the past will not be what leads us into the future.”

Mamdani, joined by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, urged his supporters to show up for his endorsed candidates “the way you showed up for me.” They include former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who’s challenging two-term Rep. Dan Goldman; state Assemblymember Claire Valdez, who’s vying for retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez’s seat; and community organizer Darializa Avila Chevalier, who’s trying to unseat five-term Rep. Adriano Espaillat, the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Mamdani’s endorsed slate of legislative candidates were at the rally, too.

The rally featured standard stump speeches from the candidates, highlighting the need to support working class New Yorkers and immigrants. Speakers called out the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the pro-Israel group that has loomed over many of these primaries — despite no evident spending from its independent expenditure arm. Sanders also emphasized his call to ban super PACs, which have reshaped primaries across the city.

Taking place just hours after the massive ticker-tape parade celebrating the Knicks’ historic championship, there were also Knicks references galore.

“I hate to break it to you, but OG Anunoby is not here to save the day,” said Mamdani, who was wearing a Knicks jersey under his suit. “The only hands we can count on are ours.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks during a get out the vote rally ahead of New York's primary election on June 18, 2026, in Brooklyn.

Sanders, who is wildly popular in New York, previously endorsed Valdez and Lander. Both Valdez and Avila Chevalier are members of the Democratic Socialists of America and are backed by the city chapter in their bids. Sanders had not officially endorsed Avila Chevalier prior to the rally.

“Why are progressives and socialist candidates winning elections all across this country?” Sanders asked. “The answer in my view is not complicated. The working class of America understands that our current economic system is rigged, that it is designed to benefit the wealthy and the powerful.”

Polling has shown Lander with a lead over Goldman, and a tight race for Velázquez’s seat. Public polling is scarce in the Espaillat race, but recent internal surveys suggest Avila Chevalier is posing a real challenge to the incumbent. Mamdani endorsed her just weeks ago, much later than Lander and Valdez, but his engagement in the race has significantly elevated its profile.

“Six months ago, they told us this race was over before it started,” Avila Chevalier said at the rally. “They told us Adriano was untouchable, that he was an institution, that you don’t run against someone like him and win. That this district was his, and that we should wait our turn. And they said it with such confidence, like the outcome had already been written. Look around. Look at what we’ve built.”

Mamdani’s decision to get involved in congressional races is stress-testing how the new mayor navigates relations with powerful, well-respected party figures — many of whom he’s on the opposite side of.

Mamdani’s endorsement is expected to be a significant asset for his picks; he had dominant performances across these districts in last year’s mayoral primary. And that shine doesn’t seem to have dulled. Recent polling has shown that Mamdani has high approval ratings.

Goldman did not support Mamdani during last year’s mayoral primary or the general election, as Lander has often pointed out. Espaillat backed former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the primary, but supported Mamdani in the general election. Valdez’s opponents, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and city Council Member Julie Won, both supported Mamdani in the primary.

The mayor has been active on the trail for his congressional candidates of choice in the closing stretch of the campaign. And he touted them all in an advertisement that ran during the first game of the Knicks’ finals run.

Still, Lander has tried to keep some distance. When asked at a recent press conference why he would appear in that ad with Avila Chevalier, who attended a pro-Palestinian rally the day after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in 2023 — the same rally Lander said he left the DSA over — he said it was an “opportunity to show New Yorkers that politics can be a team sport.” He also clarified that he has not endorsed candidates in any other congressional primaries.

Avila Chevalier told reporters that she went to that rally to “stand against” Israel engaging in “a response that is often disproportionate and creates a greater loss of life.” She added that she has “condemned Hamas” and does “not believe that celebrating the loss of anybody’s life is OK.”

Kings Theatre isn’t located in any of the districts these congressional hopefuls are trying to represent — though it neighbors the seats that Lander and Valdez have their eyes on.

It’s especially far from Espaillat’s district, which includes parts of upper Manhattan and the Bronx.

While handing out campaign literature to people walking out of the subway in Hamilton Heights, Blue Light News asked Espaillat if he had thoughts about Avila Chevalier appearing at the rally.

“I’m rallying right here in my district with my constituents — not in Brooklyn,” he replied.

Jason Beeferman contributed to this report.

Congress

Meta faces calls for Congress to probe scam ads targeting seniors

Published

19 hours ago

June 18, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Retirement groups are calling on Congress to investigate Meta over a wave of social media scams targeting older Americans.

In a letter sent Thursday to House Homeland Security Committee Chair Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) and ranking member Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the groups alleged Meta has been slow to take down fraudulent ads, leaving seniors vulnerable to financial loss. The letter, shared exclusively with POLITICO, was signed by the Alliance for Retired Americans, the American Postal Workers Union Retirees and the American Federation of Teachers, among others.

“Fraudulent Medicare ads have proliferated on Meta platforms and too many seniors are getting scammed while Meta profits,” said Richard Fiesta, executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans. “We are calling on Congress to investigate how these scams are allowed to spread, what Meta knew about them, and why stronger protections are not in place. Seniors should not be left vulnerable while scammers and tech companies cash in.”

The letter’s demands follow a report published last month by the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a nonprofit advocacy group, which alleged that Meta has profited by leaving up fraudulent ads, many of which target Medicare recipients.

“Scammers are determined criminals who use increasingly sophisticated tactics to defraud people and evade detection,” Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said in a statement. “We aggressively fight scams on and off our platforms because they’re not good for us or the people and businesses that rely on our services and for years we’ve been one of law enforcement’s strongest partners in the fight against this type of online crime — identifying criminals, disrupting their crimes and helping bring them to justice.”

Stone pointed to several examples of Meta’s efforts to combat scams on its platform, including a recent collaboration with U.S. and Thai law enforcement to disrupt online scams.

It’s not the first time Meta has faced scrutiny over the scams: Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) urged the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities Exchange Commission to open an investigation into the company in November after Reuters reported that Meta in internal documents projected 10 percent of its 2024 revenue would come from fraudulent ads. And in February, a group of bipartisan lawmakers pressed Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg over its plans to prevent and combat fraud on its platforms.

Reps. Dan Meuser (R-Pa.) and Lou Correa (D-Calif.) also introduced bipartisan legislation earlier this year to combat predatory scam ads.

Congress

Congress lays out path for final passage of housing bill

Published

19 hours ago

June 18, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Congress is expected to send a landmark, bipartisan housing affordability bill to President Donald Trump’s desk by the end of next week as the Senate and House schedule action on the legislation in the coming days.

The Senate has teed up the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act for final passage on Monday, after completing all its necessary procedural votes this week.

The legislation will then move on to the House where GOP leadership plans to open debate on Wednesday, with a vote expected as early as the same day, according to six people familiar with the vote granted anonymity to discuss plans.

House leadership plans to suspend the rules, requiring a two-thirds majority vote, to speed up the bill’s path to Trump’s desk. Final passage could be pushed to Thursday depending on timing, the people said.

The housing bill aims to tackle housing affordability and boost homeownership and supply ahead of a midterm election dominated by cost-of-living concerns.

The four lawmakers leading the negotiations over the legislation — Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.), ranking member Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), House Financial Services Chair French Hill (R-Ark.) and ranking member Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) — came to an agreement Tuesday afternoon after months of back and forth on the bill’s contents.

The housing affordability legislation, which the White House supports, contains a provision limiting the role of large institutional investors in the single-family housing market, which was a key condition for Trump to sign the bill.