By Olivia Beavers

WASHINGTON -- Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, a prominent ally of President Trump, criticized House Speaker Mike Johnson, calling him an ineffective leader who is losing control over the GOP conference headed into the midterm elections.

"He certainly wouldn't have the votes to be speaker if there was a roll-call vote tomorrow," the New York lawmaker, who is running for governor, said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. "I believe that the majority of Republicans would vote for new leadership. It's that widespread."

The comments came Tuesday night as Stefanik was publicly sparring with Johnson over a legislative provision she wanted included in the annual defense-policy bill. On Wednesday morning, Stefanik said she had a "productive discussion" with Johnson and Trump and that her provision would be added to the bill.

Johnson, who easily survived a challenge to his speakership last year, struck a conciliatory tone after their discussion, telling reporters Wednesday that he thought the matter was resolved. "I never understood what all the disturbance was about," he said, attributing the dispute to a breakdown in communication.

In the Journal interview, Stefanik painted Johnson's standing with Republicans as in a state of collapse. She cited matters ranging from members criticizing his decision to keep lawmakers in their home districts during the recent government shutdown, to weak showings in special elections and to what she casts as his failure to address the expected jump in healthcare costs if the party doesn't reach an agreement with Democrats soon.

It is the most critical Stefanik, 41 years old, has been of Johnson since the Louisiana congressman rose to the speakership in late 2023 following the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.). Johnson has led the chamber with razor-thin margins, successfully passing Trump's tax bill in the summer. But more recently, four Republicans joined Democrats in forcing a vote on releasing files related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, over the strong initial objections of Johnson and Trump.

"It's all bubbling over," said Stefanik, whose congressional probe into antisemitism on college campuses led to the resignations of multiple Ivy League presidents two years ago. "Whereas Kevin McCarthy was a political animal, Mike Johnson is a political novice and, boy, does it show, with the House Republicans underperforming for the first time in the Trump era."

She also discounted Johnson's closeness to Trump and argued that the president "is the leader of the Republicans and he certainly doesn't need Mike Johnson."

The White House didn't respond to a request for comment.

Johnson allies said they were bewildered by Stefanik's criticism. "I don't know why she's choosing this moment to go after Mike," said Rep. Pat Fallon (R., Texas). "He's honest, he's caring. He truly is the man that he reports himself to be."

Rep. Richard Hudson (R., N.C.), chairman of House Republicans' campaign arm, said Johnson "has been a fantastic leader for our conference from a political standpoint," with a strong fundraising record. "Everything I've asked him to do, he's far exceeded," he said.

After this article was published online, Stefanik posted on X on Wednesday afternoon: "I had a very productive conversation with Speaker Johnson last night and I shared my views that House Republicans need to focus on delivering results to the American people."

Stefanik began lashing out at Johnson in recent days over the provision she wanted attached to the annual defense-authorization bill that Congress is pulling together. The provision, which she has been working on for years, would require Congress to be notified if the Federal Bureau of Investigation probes candidates running for president and other federal offices. She said on social media that Johnson was "getting rolled by House Dems attempting to block my provision."

Johnson told reporters Tuesday that he wasn't aware of any problems with the provision until Stefanik complained about it and that the proposal was being addressed through normal committee processes. "I don't exactly know why Elise won't just call me," he said. "This wasn't even on my radar." He said he would work to fix the situation.

Stefanik fired back on social media that his comments were "just more lies." She also signed onto a discharge petition led by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R., Fla.) designed to bypass GOP leadership and force a vote on a ban on congressional stock trading, a move that raised eyebrows within the GOP conference. Some questioned what her strategy was in going after the speaker.

Other Republicans have made jabs at Johnson.

"It's no secret that House leadership is refusing to do anything about congressional insider trading," Rep. Greg Steube (R., Fla.), who has also been critical of party leaders in the past, wrote on X as he voiced support for the stock-ban push. "If the Speaker and Majority Leader won't step up and do the right thing, we will."

Before the president's tax bill was passed, about two dozen Republicans warned that Johnson was losing trust with some in his conference. During the shutdown, a handful of Republicans such as Rep. Kevin Kiley (R., Calif.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R., Ga.) criticized Johnson's strategy for keeping House members home, though other Republicans backed the approach.

Despite the criticism, Johnson has also enjoyed support from the hard-line House Freedom Caucus -- which has fought with leadership in the past -- and a large faction of the party during the shutdown. He gets praise from many members for his cool demeanor, even amid turbulent times or when facing criticism from within his own party. Some lawmakers play down the results in recent special elections that have shifted toward Democrats, saying they don't necessarily indicate how Republicans will fare in the midterms.

Stefanik, who came to Congress in 2015, has had a topsy-turvy year. She was the top-ranking woman in GOP leadership when she was nominated by Trump to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. But her nomination was scratched after Trump and Johnson grew nervous about the GOP's thin House majority, with the concern peaking during two special elections in Florida. Stefanik stayed in Congress and with a lesser leadership title -- because her past post had already been filled -- then announced her campaign for New York governor.

Stefanik alleges that Johnson opposed her nomination. Johnson allies contend that he only warned Trump to keep an eye on the GOP's thin margin when plucking members from the House to serve in the administration and that the speaker backed her nomination once it was announced. They also note that Johnson, despite Stefanik's criticisms at the time, worked to reinstall her in a leadership position and help her restore her seniority on the House Intelligence Committee.

Write to Olivia Beavers at Olivia.Beavers@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 03, 2025 17:05 ET (22:05 GMT)

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