Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) is publicly feuding with Mike Johnson over a provision related to FBI probes of political candidates that she claims the House speaker blocked from inclusion in the National Defense Authorization Act.
Why it matters: The dispute marks an escalation of simmering discord between Johnson (R-La.) and Stefanik— a member of leadership and a candidate for New York governor.
- Stefanik gave up her role as House Republican conference chair when President Trump picked her to be his UN ambassador, but her nomination was ultimately pulled.
- Stefanik has reportedly blamed Johnson for delaying and ultimately killing her nomination to keep his narrow GOP House majority from further dwindling, which Johnson has denied.
- Johnson subsequently gave her a largely symbolic role as chair of House GOP leadership.
Driving the news: Stefanik's stance sets up another test of Johnson's ability to hold together his razor-thin majority as he navigates one of Congress' must-pass bills.
- Her provision would require the FBI to notify Congress when opening a counterintelligence investigation into candidates for federal office.
- Stefanik, who has has backed every defense and intelligence authorization bill since coming to Congress a decade ago, contends that the Russia investigation and special counsel Jack Smith's probe into Trump are politically motivated.
- She's now threatening to tank the NDAA over the omission of her provision: Johnson's only able to lose two GOP members on a party-line vote, so her opposition could be perilous.
What happened: On Monday, Stefanik accused Johnson of "getting rolled" by Democrats after Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, succeeded in stripping the provision.
- "If Republicans can't deliver accountability and legislative fixes to arguably the biggest illegal corruption and government weaponization issue of all time, then what are we even doing," she wrote on X.
- Stefanik said Tuesday morning that her claims were confirmed in a briefing, writing on X that Johnson "is siding with Jamie Raskin against Trump Republicans."
The other side: Johnson pushed back Tuesday, telling reporters that Stefanik's claims are false and insisting the issue wasn't on his radar until she went public.
- "I don't exactly know why Elise won't just call me," Johnson said. "I texted her last night and said I would help figure out what happened."
- He added that he supports her provision, but argued it was removed because "the two chairs and the two rankers in both chambers did not agree."
- "It doesn't mean it can't become law," he said, adding, "I had nothing to do with it, so I don't know why she's frustrated with me."
Stefanik quickly shot back, posting on X: "Just more lies from the Speaker ... This is his preferred tactic to tell Members when he gets caught torpedoing the Republican agenda."
The latest: After a conversation with President Trump and Johnson Tuesday night, Stefanik said her provision will be included in the NDAA.
- While this guarantees Stefanik's backing for the must-pass bill, it risks losing key Democratic support potentially needed to get it across the finish line.
The intrigue: A House GOP staffer told Axios that Raskin did fight against the provision, but Johnson was the one who ultimately pulled it out of the NDAA, contradicting the speaker's public posture.
- Johnson "would have done the same thing anyway" with or without Democrats' involvement, a senior House Democrat familiar with the matter told Axios. "His position was independently arrived at."
- A leadership aide pushed back on the notion that Johnson stripped out the provision, reiterating that the four corners of the Judiciary Committee did not agree to include it — and that it was never up to Johnson.
Between the lines: The rift widened further Tuesday when Stefanik signed on to Rep. Anna Paulina Luna's (R-Fla.) discharge petition to ban members of Congress from trading individual stocks.
- The procedural tool bypasses Johnson and forces legislation to the floor with or without leadership's support.
What's next: The House is expected to take up the defense authorization measure in the coming weeks.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.
