Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is "part of the conspiracy" to "take down" former President Donald Trump, according to Steve Bannon, a former adviser to Trump.
While interviewing Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene Wednesday on his far-right War Room podcast, Bannon accused Johnson of having "hate" for Trump's MAGA movement and being part of what he says is a "vast criminal conspiracy" against the ex-president.
Greene, who is planning to force a vote on a motion to oust Johnson as speaker next week, told Bannon that her GOP colleague from Louisiana had "done such an excellent job" of promoting President Joe Biden's agenda by "funding foreign wars" and "ignoring" the U.S.-Mexico border.
In 2022, Bannon was convicted of contempt of Congress after refusing to comply with a subpoena to testify before the House January 6 committee investigating the siege on the U.S. Capitol. He currently faces criminal charges in New York, accused of helping swindle Trump supporters into donating their money to help fund a U.S.-Mexico border wall. Bannon has pleaded not guilty to several counts of money laundering, conspiracy and scheming to defraud in connection with the $15 million received in the "We Build the Wall" fundraising campaign.
Bannon on Wednesday's podcast called Johnson a "bald-faced" liar. He denounced Johnson for not doing enough to meet hard-right Republican demands on the border and for allowing the funding of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI while Trump is facing dozens of federal felony criminal charges, in addition to dozens of state-level felonies.
"Speaker Johnson needs to answer one basic question," said Bannon. "We know you lied to everybody, you bald-faced lie to everybody to their face on securing the southern border. Bald-faced lie."
"In addition, what is going on with all of this [not] standing up for President Trump about a vast criminal conspiracy going on in the FBI and DOJ ... clearly people in the House are working on it ... How could you possibly fund the DOJ and FBI?"
Bannon went on to "demand" that Johnson be removed from office, asserting that being "prepared to go along with" the alleged conspiracy means "you hate MAGA, you hate the Republican Conference [and] you hate the country."
"You're part of the conspiracy to actually take down Donald J. Trump," Bannon concluded. "Them's the facts."
Newsweek reached out for comment to Johnson's office via email on Wednesday.
While Johnson's predecessor, former Republican Congressman Kevin McCarthy, was ousted in a right-wing revolt less than one year into his speakership last year, the current speaker has been largely dismissive of Greene's impending effort to remove him from the job.
Johnson said during a Wednesday interview on the NewsNation program The Hill that he does not believe Greene is a "serious lawmaker," adding that he does not "spend a lot of time thinking about" the congresswoman and was prepared to "let the chips fall where they may."
There are indications that Bannon and Greene's hopes for removing Johnson from the speakership could be an uphill battle, with some Democrats suggesting they may vote to keep him in the role in the increasingly unlikely event that the razor-thin GOP House majority votes in favor of Greene's motion to vacate.
Greene has claimed that Johnson is a member of what she says is a "uniparty," with Republicans working alongside Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to pass Biden's agenda.
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Aila Slisco is a Newsweek night reporter based in New York. Her focus is on reporting national politics, where she ... Read more
