Elise Stefanik claims Mike Johnson is being “rolled” by Democrats and lying about a defense bill provision
By Caitlin Yilek
Politics Reporter
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December 2, 2025 / 1:32 PM EST / CBS News
Washington — New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, a member of House Speaker Mike Johnson’s leadership team, criticized Johnson on Monday, accusing him of blocking a provision that would force the FBI to alert Congress when counterintelligence investigations into federal candidates are opened.
Stefanik said she would oppose the National Defense Authorization Act unless her provision is restored. The House could vote on the annual defense policy bill as early as next week.
In a post on X, Stefanik claimed Johnson is “getting rolled” by House Democrats who oppose the measure.
“Unless this provision is added back into the bill to prevent illegal political weaponization of the intelligence community in our elections, I am a HARD NO. I have always supported defense and intelligence authorization bills, but no more,” she wrote.
She intensified her criticism in a second post on Tuesday, blaming Johnson for “blocking my provision.”
“This is an easy one. This bill is DOA unless this provision is added back in as it was passed out of committee,” she stated.
Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said he was unaware of the situation and called her version of events “false.”
“I don’t exactly know why Elise won’t just call me. I texted her yesterday,” he told reporters at a Tuesday press conference when asked about the rift.
He explained that he told Stefanik via text that the issue hadn’t even reached his level yet, and he noted that the House and Senate Judiciary committees’ bipartisan leaders—those he believed had jurisdiction—had not agreed to include the provision in the defense bill.
Stefanik fired back, saying she did not believe Johnson was unaware of the matter and urged him to “fix it.” She reiterated that, in her view, the House Intelligence Committee has jurisdiction over her provision.
“Just more lies from the Speaker,” Stefanik said. “This is his preferred tactic when he gets caught undermining the Republican agenda.”
It remains unclear whether Stefanik’s opposition will derail the defense bill in a House controlled by Republicans by a narrow margin. Historically, this bill has enjoyed bipartisan support and passed annually for more than six decades.
Related topics: Mike Johnson, Elise Stefanik, U.S. House of Representatives, Department of Defense
