Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) is now engaged in an open war with Speaker Mike Johnson, a very public rift at the highest level of the House Republican Conference.
This fight is ostensibly about a dispute in the NDAA, the annual Pentagon policy bill.
Stefanik is so frustrated that she’s prepared to tank the must-pass defense bill — approved by lawmakers every year for more than six decades — if the speaker doesn’t include a provision requiring the FBI to alert Congress if it opens a counterintelligence investigation into an elected official or candidate. Democrats are opposed to this provision.
“I’ll take down the rule,” Stefanik told us in an interview. Stefanik has made this message clear to House GOP leaders as well.
As of very early Wednesday morning, sources said that Stefanik’s war might be successful. There was an effort afoot to put the provision back in the NDAA, showing that Stefanik’s brutal bare-knuckled effort is gaining traction.
And that’s why this fight says so much about today’s House.
Stefanik, whom Johnson appointed the chair of the Republican leadership, is a wily operator. Remember, Stefanik helped topple former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) back in 2021 for not being loyal enough to President Donald Trump. Stefanik replaced Cheney in the leadership under then Speaker Kevin McCarthy, with whom she enjoyed a better relationship.
Johnson is undergoing a particularly perilous moment. The Louisiana Republican is entering the most difficult stretch of his speakership, with anger over government spending, health care and the broader political climate rife inside the House GOP Conference.
Members find it easy – even convenient – to hammer the speaker. Johnson has little choice but to bend as he has a two-vote margin. And the speaker has lots of retiring members who are running for other offices, often by bashing the very Congress they serve in.
The policy.It’s inconvenient for Johnson that Stefanik has an issue that will garner immediate attention in Trump’s Washington.
Johnson has said he supports Stefanik’s language in the NDAA, but he adds that the policy dispute was handled at the committee level – not in the leadership. Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, vetoed the measure.
“He is siding with Raskin,” Stefanik said of Johnson. “Raskin was the only opposition.”
Stefanik insists Johnson can demand the language in the bill. However, the NDAA is a very delicate package with a long history of bipartisan support, and last-minute tweaks can unravel the entire bill. Yet there are times when a congressional leader circumvents a “Four Corners” agreement to fight for a policy’s inclusion.
Stefanik has gone absolutely ballistic on Johnson in the most public way during this dispute, saying the speaker was lying about her and instructing him to “fix this” – in other words, get the provision into the bill. Stefanik said Johnson was “blocking” her policy and the speaker was getting “rolled” by Democrats.
Johnson has had an incredibly rough period since the shutdown ended a few weeks ago – as if that episode wasn’t enough.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) announced her resignation, criticizing the speaker and the House on her way out. There was a revolt on the House floor Tuesday as hardline Republicans led by Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas). Roy – who is running for Texas attorney general – lashed out at the GOP leadership’s decision to move forward with a bill regulating the pay of collegiate athletes.
And Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) is so sick of the leadership that she’s filed a discharge petition to force a vote on legislation banning stock trading for members of Congress. Stefanik has signed on.
The politics. Of course, Stefanik is running for governor of New York herself. That comes with a whole host of political priorities that don’t always line up with the House Republican majority. Picking a fight with Johnson might be good for Stefanik’s own Empire State politics, especially if this is seen as a pro-Trump move.
Stefanik can hardly seem to contain her personal disdain for Johnson, though. The tension between Stefanik and Johnson has been at a low boil for some time.
Stefanik privately blamed Johnson for torpedoing her nomination to be ambassador to the United Nations – something the speaker and the White House vehemently deny. However, Johnson did warn Trump about his thin majority as Trump tapped House Republicans for his new administration.
When Stefanik decided to stay in the House, Johnson was initially resistant to putting her back on the Intelligence Committee, saying that there wasn’t any room for the six-term lawmaker on the secretive panel. The speaker eventually relented.
Johnson also put Stefanik back on the GOP leadership team. Stefanik had stepped down from her role when she accepted the nomination to serve as Trump’s U.N. envoy. But Johnson complained that Stefanik hasn’t answered his calls or texts about this NDAA flap.
This is all a huge warning sign for Johnson. If the speaker faces this kind of very public pushback from a member of his own leadership team, how will Johnson be able to make bipartisan deals on Obamacare, FY2026 spending or anything else? Johnson has relied on Trump to help him achieve anything during this Congress, yet what if Republicans need to create distance from Trump in order to further their own careers?
With a margin this thin, Johnson is waging internal battles every day. And that’s even before he can turn his attention to Democrats.
