Mike Johnson adds to Democrats' 11th hour arsenal
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House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks at a Trump campaign office in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on Oct. 28, 2024. Photo: SAMUEL CORUM/AFP via Getty Images.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) handed his Democratic foes another last-minute gift on Friday by suggesting Republicans would try to repeal the CHIPS and Science Act.
Why it matters: Johnson quickly attempted to walk back the comments, but Democrats said it's too late for that — the damage is already done.
- "This is really deadly for them in the Midwest. We have jobs being created every day by these new laws," one senior House Democrat told Axios.
- The lawmaker added that there is "chatter among colleagues already" about incorporating the episode into their closing message and using it to argue "how little they care about ... older industrial cities."
Driving the news: Asked by reporters during a campaign stop in upstate New York on Friday if Republicans would try to repeal the CHIPS Act, Johnson replied, "I expect that we probably will."
- Rep. Brandon Williams (R-N.Y.), for whom Johnson was campaigning, noted in the same interaction that the $50 billion investment in microchip development has been "hugely impactful" in his district and that he will "remind [Johnson] night and day how important the CHIPS Act is."
- Williams followed up in a statement asserting that Johnson "apologized profusely, saying he misheard the question," and that Johnson "clarified his comments on the spot."
- Johnson said in a statement that the law "is not on the agenda for repeal," but that Republicans may target certain pro-environmental provisions.
Zoom out: The slip-up comes after Democrats had already been getting considerable mileage out of Johnson's recent comments about the Affordable Care Act.
- Democrats have vigorously accused the speaker of wanting to repeal the landmark health law, but he has claimed that — as with the CHIPS Act — he was simply advocating reform.
- Some Democrats with large Puerto Rican populations in their districts have also seized on comedian Tony Hinchcliffe likening Puerto Rico to an "island of garbage" during former President Trump's Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday.
What they're saying: Several Democrats in competitive House races rushed to release statements on Friday night seizing on Johnson's comments.
- New York state Sen. John Mannion, Williams' Democratic opponent, said voters "are seeing Speaker Mike Johnson and Rep. Brandon Williams for who they are – extremists."
- Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio) tied it in with the ACA remarks, saying: "Stripping healthcare away from tens of millions of Americans and stripping investments in new manufacturing jobs is the worst possible closing argument."
- Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.) said: "This exactly why economic voters are fleeing the Republican party in droves. Republicans are decimating jobs, Democrats are delivering jobs."
State of play: House Majority PAC, House Democrats' main super PAC, is blasting out press releases putting swing-district GOP lawmakers and candidates on the spot over Johnson's comments.
- The releases question where the Republicans "stand on Mike Johnson's plan to repeal the CHIPS Act."
The bottom line: "There's a reason we call them team extreme," Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) told Axios.
- "They are doing their best in the closing days of this campaign to show the country how absolutely extreme and dangerous they are."
