💥 House conservatives are pressuring Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) for a vote on legislation aimed at showing their allegiance to former President Trump after his historic criminal conviction, Axios' Stephen Neukam has learned.
Conservatives want a floor vote on a bill that would allow current or former presidents to move any state case brought against themto federal court, multiple House GOP sources say.
That would apply to cases such as the one in New York that resulted in Trump's conviction.
It's part of an aggressive defense of Trump by House Republicans that could include going after the Justice Department — a move that could put the GOP's vulnerable members in a tough spot.
Johnson told Republicans in a conference meeting today that the House GOP will target DOJ through attempts at increased oversight, funding cuts and other means, a source in the room told Axios.
There's more:
House Judiciary chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) on Monday floated cutting federal funding for state prosecutors investigating Trump and defunding the federal investigations into the former president.
More than one Democrat noted the irony of that plan, given Republicans' past accusations that Democrats wanted to "defund" police.
Johnson last week called for the U.S. Supreme Court to "step in" to overturn the guilty verdict.
A group of conservative Republican senators also have signed onto a pledge to seek to block floor action in response to the conviction.
