On Tuesday, February 25, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) managed to get a spending bill past the finish line when it passed in a very close 217-215 vote. No Democrats voted for the bill, and only one Republican joined them in voting "no": Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky.
Initially, Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Indiana) was in the "no" camp, insisting to CNN that she wouldn't budge. But Puck News, on February 26, reported that Spartz changed her mind after Trump called her, yelled at her, berated her, and characterized her as a "fake Republican" who was undermining his agenda. Spartz, however, is vehemently denying that Trump yelled at her or intimidated her in any way.
The New Republic's Edith Olmsted notes that Spartz seemed quite adamant about voting "no" when she was interviewed by CNN's Manu Raju.
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Raju asked Spartz if she would give into pressure from other Republicans to vote "yes," and the Indiana lawmaker responded, "You don't know me well enough.… You should know better than that by now. We cannot be weak, and we have to do the right thing for the people."
But in the end, Spartz changed her mind and voted "yes."
Spartz isn't denying that she changed her mind about the spending bill vote after a phone conversation with Trump, but she insists that he never yelled at her.
In a February 27 post on X, formerly Twitter, Spartz wrote, "Unbelievable how corrupt and low media reporting has became - they do not even bother anymore to inquire and spin lies with anonymous sources…. I was not planning to comment on the blatant lies from the fake media, but started to get inquiries from even more reputable outlets. I just cannot believe how low our level of journalism has became (sic)."
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Spartz also tweeted, "I do not disclose details of my private conversations to the media, but I will take this opportunity to share my thoughts about President Trump that media never writes about. President Trump is a strong man, but he is also a very kind and sensitive man who cares deeply about our country and the people. He listens - not like most politicians, and he truly wants to deliver regardless how hard it is. I do not recall him ever raising his voice with me. He knows that I care too. We always have very thoughtful and meaningful discussions. He is my only hope to get things done!"
Quoting Puck News' reporting that Trump yelled at her, Spartz tweeted, "Crazy blatant lie! What a sham! :)"
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