Mike Johnson's off-hand admission 'I run the protection program' raises eyebrows

Appearing to go off-script at a conservative gathering on Friday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) suggested that he is the last thing saving Donald Trump, and just as importantly, his supporters, from new investigations because he will run interference for them.

Speaking at the Faith and Freedom Coalition's annual summit, Johnson warned supporters that if Democrats take control of the House, they would "turn every committee of Congress into an investigative body" and target "Trump, his family, his Cabinet, his donors, and his allies."
He then admitted "I run the protection program. I'll take care of you."
The phrase "protection program" caught the ear of MSNOW's Steve Benen, who noted that after Trump returned to the White House, "the GOP-led Congress continued to show very little interest in legislating, but this time, lawmakers also abandoned their oversight responsibilities to an almost cartoonish degree, pretending not to notice any of the incumbent president's many abuses and scandals."

According to the analyst, with the bill for compliance coming due, Johnson was serving notice that the GOP would go into bunker mode if the House was lost to Democrats.

"It was nevertheless remarkable to hear a sitting House speaker declare, out loud and in public, that he wants and expects to run a 'protection program' — a phrase more commonly associated with organized crime — on behalf of the White House."