House Republicans privately warned Mike Johnson of 'populist rage' the day before January 6
Newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) was not only one of the key architects of the scheme to contest the results of the 2020 election in the House of Representatives, but he was also aware of the dangers of doing so before pushing forward anyway.
A new report in Politico details how, prior to January 6, 2021, Johnson's Republican colleagues, particularly Reps. Don Bacon (R-Nebraska) and Chip Roy (R-Texas), tried to dissuade him from his plan to no avail.
"Let us not turn the last firewall for liberty we have remaining on its head in a bit of populist rage for political expediency," Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) reportedly told Johnson.
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In the days and weeks following the 2020 election, Politico reported that Johnson spoke repeatedly about calls between himself and then-President Trump regarding various challenges to state vote tallies in federal court. On multiple occasions, Rep. Johnson endorsed Trump's false claims that voting machine software was "rigged" against Trump. Johnson even falsely described Dominion Voting Systems as a "software system that is used all around the country that is suspect because it came from Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela" (that particular claim was thoroughly debunked by Reuters in late November of 2020).
In a November 9 radio interview with a Lafayette, Louisiana-based program, Johnson revealed that he spoke via phone with Trump and that he felt confident the Supreme Court would rule in his favor.
"I think there's at least five justices on the Court that will do the right thing," Johnson said.
As the New York Times previously reported, Johnson concocted a legal argument in the lead-up to January 6 that labeled states' Covid-19 protocols for handling the 2020 election as "unconstitutional," but that refrained from repeating some of Trump's most incendiary claims. When ABC News congressional correspondent Rachel Scott attempted to ask Johnson about his role in disputing the election, he declined to answer the question and didn't stop his colleagues from shouting her down and telling her to "shut up."
READ MORE: 'Shut up!': Republicans boo reporter for asking Mike Johnson about role in Jan. 6
Despite their objections during the January 5, 2021 House Republican Conference meeting, neither Chip Roy nor Don Bacon opposed elevating Johnson to the speakership, and eventually joined House Republicans' unanimous vote to make Johnson the 56th Speaker of the House on Wednesday.
