House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) broadly outlined a “three-pronged approach” Tuesday during a weekly conference meeting on how the Republican majority can target the Justice Department, New York and other jurisdictions for investigating Trump — vowing to use House oversight powers while cutting funds in the government appropriations process and taking other unspecified legislative measures.
“We’re going to do everything we can, everything within our scope of our responsibility in the Congress, to address it appropriately,” Johnson said at his weekly news conference afterward.
One of Trump’s staunchest allies is readying a more aggressive approach. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has threatened to file a resolution before the week’s end to impeach President Biden. Greene left a Tuesday meeting with Johnson demanding “in the loudest most possible way” that he allow the House a vote on removing Biden or she will force such a vote.
Across the Capitol, a faction of 11 conservative senators led by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) pledged to slow down Senate business by voting against all of Biden’s judicial and political nominees and refusing to speed up consideration of any “Democrat legislation.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) condemned the Republican plans to start investigations of the prosecutions of Trump, who is also charged with election interference in Fulton County, Georgia as well as federal charges related to allegations of mishandling classified documents and seeking to overturn the 2020 election.
“You had 12 jurors come to a unanimous conclusion, and the former president was guilty of 34 felonies, and that, that somehow is indication of weaponization when that was a state prosecution that had nothing to do with President Biden or the Department of Justice,” Jeffries said. “The American people understand that we need more common sense and less chaos in Washington, D.C.”
The historic verdict against a former president has cemented support from Hill Republicans, who have cast doubt on the fairness of the judicial system as they frame the convictions as an abuse of power and a threat to U.S. democracy ahead of an election. Though a majority of Republican lawmakers across the ideological spectrum have condemned the verdict, some worry that the ferocity of the denunciations will erode trust in government and the courts.
Republicans pointed out several reasons they have vigorously come to Trump’s defense in the New York case, in which Trump as found guilty for covering up a hush money payment used to obscure an alleged affair from voters in 2016. Several noted that New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) campaigned for his current job by stressing successful lawsuits against the Trump family.
“This was never about what President Trump did or didn’t do, it’s about who he is,” Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) told reporters on Tuesday. “He’s the leading Republican candidate for president and the Democrats have made it clear that they will stop at nothing, even if it means weaponizing our justice system and trampling on the rule of law to try and prevent him from getting to the White House again.”
Several House Republicans, from the most conservative to moderate, said their backing of Trump is based on how their constituents reacted. Some, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly, said that they issued statements in fear of how his base would react if they stayed quiet.
Trump has animated his loyal base of voters by painting himself as a martyr and repeatedly suggesting that if the Biden administration and judicial system were not coming after him, they would go after his supporters. Congressional Republicans say that message has been effective, deeply resonating with constituents back home.
“This is less about Trump and more about America,” said Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.). “This is beyond Trump. [Democrats] have used Trump to weaponize the court system, and then it could be us. It could be anybody.”
Johnson has yet to provide specifics on investigations or measures that might be pursued, which many Republicans took to mean that announcing his plan was more a statement of commitment to Trump than a fleshed out strategy.
It was unclear how the House could seek to cut spending for states through the appropriations process, which funds the federal government. But it has become a talking point for far-right lawmakers that was on display during a House Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) accused the Justice Department as colluding with the New York district attorney’s office, and blaming Attorney General Merrick Garland, without evidence, of fueling conspiracy theories by withholding information about alleged communications.
“We do not control those offices. They make their own decisions,” Garland responded.
There is no evidence that the Justice Department was involved in the New York case. In two federal cases regarding Trump’s handling of classified documents and his alleged role in attempting to overturn the 2020 election, Garland appointed special counsel Jack Smith in an effort to insulate the department from the probes.
The Justice Department is also currently prosecuting Biden’s son, Hunter, on tax evasion charges and allegations that he lied about his drug use when purchasing a gun. The latter case is currently underway at a trial in Delaware.
Even so, several swing-district House Republicans applauded Johnson’s ambition to continue investigating any potential links in light of the verdict.
“It’s not a political thing,” Rep. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.) said of ongoing investigations. “It’s right and wrong. We’re umpires here and we have to call balls and strikes. When see something that looks like it was done for political purposes with a lot of conflicts and a lot of sort of jurisdictional issues, we have an obligation to look at it.”
Rep. John Duarte, who is one of the most vulnerable Republicans in California, said he’ll be speaking “quite firmly against this prosecution” back home because immigrants from Central and South America who now live in his district are appalled that the U.S. government is acting like the banana republics they grew up in.
Other vulnerable swing-district Republicans have refused to comment on Trump’s verdict. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.) put out a statement last week lamenting that the “national narrative continues overshadowing the kitchen table issues” her constituents are discussing, while Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) deflected directly answering questions by noting that a “pretty diverse range of commentators” say Trump’s case is ripe for appeal.
“Every person is doing their own thing,” said Rep. David G. Valadao (R-Calif.), a vulnerable incumbent who voted to impeach Trump. “I’ve chosen to stay completely out of the presidential race. So I’m not taking a position on anything.”
Some members lamented how aggressively Johnson and other Republicans have defended Trump while attacking the judicial system.
“The concern I have for the future of our country right now is that we have become so divided along partisan lines and this whole notion that we’ve weaponized government, I think it’s a challenge for us as a nation,” one conservative House Republican said.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) — a moderate who voted to convict Trump in the past — is one of the few Republicans who has said publicly that the verdict is politically unpalatable for the party. “These distractions have given the Biden campaign a pass as the focus has shifted from Biden’s indefensible record and the damage his policies have done to Alaska and our nation’s economy, to Trump’s legal drama,” she wrote on X last week.
Still, Republicans appeared unsure whether they should focus on what they are casting as the unfairness of the prosecution ahead of 2024, when voters have pinpointed immigration and the economy as their major issues. Swing-district House Republicans did not sharply criticize Johnson for having the conference focus on addressing the weaponization of government, but warned against making that the only issue Republicans vote on ahead of the election.
“My voters don’t want to focus on these issues,” Garcia said. “They’re all less interested in the drama at the national level and they’re just trying to make ends meet within their own lives.”
More conservative lawmakers expressed the opposing view. Asked whether Republicans should focus on the verdict in their 2024 messaging, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) argued “One of the biggest threats to democracy is the politicization, corruption of our justice system.”
Mariana Alfaro and Leigh Ann Caldwell contributed to this r
