The President defended the Republican Party’s record after suffering epic losses in the midterms.
House Speaker Mike Johnson returned to the Capitol on Monday, where he blasted voters and defended Republicans after they suffered stunning losses in the midterms.
CNN’s Manu Raju asked the Louisiana lawmaker whether the president should change course after Tuesday’s defeats, but even after the massive GOP defeat, Johnson defended Donald Trump.
“I’m not going to tell the president how to do his job. We have an incredible record in the first two years of his term, and I expect more success in the days to come,” Johnson said.
“I’m sorry the voters made the wrong choice,” the speaker continued. “I really believe the next two years are going to be a bit of a circus. It’s going to be chaos, and I hate to say it, but I think that’s where the Democrats are going to run the House.”
Speaker Mike Johnson defended President Donald Trump and criticized voters after Republicans lost in the midterms.
Andrew Harnik/Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
But Johnson didn’t stop there. He called Democrats “a great tragedy” and argued that if Republicans had retained the majority, they would “stay the course to continue serving the people.”
But voters roundly rejected the Republicans, who had held majorities in both chambers and the White House for nearly two years, in a total wipeout.
Ultimately, NBC News projects that Democrats will hold a whopping 83-seat majority, securing 259 seats in the House, while Republicans will hold just 176.
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At the same time, Democrats also managed to flip the Senate, winning 54 seats, and they could be up to 56, as elections in Alaska and Mississippi remain too close to call.
After Republicans lost the House, Johnson almost immediately told aides that he would not seek a leadership role in the new Congress in January.
Johnson also fired back at outgoing Republican Rep. Thomas Massie on Monday by reintroducing articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The speaker claimed that removing Hegseth while the war in Iran continues would be a “terrible picture” and argued that they don’t remove Cabinet secretaries for “political gain or cheap tricks.”
Democrats have largely supported efforts to oust the defense secretary over the war in Iran and other military actions. Even some Republicans have expressed concerns about his leadership at the Defense Department.
It remains unclear whether Johnson will have the votes needed to undo his efforts in the lame duck session before Democrats take the majority in January.
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