Recently minted Home Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is now being attacked by liberal media outlets for not benefiting off his 7 years in Congress, and Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is coming to his defense.
The Florida Republican excoriated a Daily Monster journalist for smugly noting that Speaker Johnson has a modest mortgage and “does not have any retirement cost savings, own a single stock, or have any properties at all. He has less than $5,000 in his bank account.” Matt Fuller, the Monster’s Washington, D.C. reporter, linked to a story exploring Johnson’s disclosures which calls his monetary position “extremely precarious.”
“The Daily Monster rages that @SpeakerJohnson isn’t rich, corrupt or abundant from being corrupt,” composed Gaetz on X. “He doesn’t have dubious business deals. He does not trade stocks as a congressman.
“Cry more, I guess?” he included with a shrugging emoji.
The Daily Beast rages that @SpeakerJohnson isn’t abundant, corrupt or abundant from being corrupt.
He does not have dubious organization deals. He doesn’t trade stocks as a congressman.
Cry more, I think? https://t.co/eRVtp9p0u7
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) November 1, 2023
No matter the political party, members of Congress frequently see their net worth increase while in workplace though they are required to report on every dollar they see during that time. Principles rules need members like Speaker Johnson to report earnings, taxes paid, and the holding and trading of stocks. The latter requirement has entangled members in the past consisting of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a prolific stock trader who has passed legislation relating to business in which she held a monetary stake.
So the paradox of now pursuing the leading Republican in Congress for not benefiting may effectively be a very first among liberal media outlets, with the Beast intent on speculating that Speaker Johnson has a nefarious strategy to enhance himself as a lobbyist following his time in workplace. The outlet spoke with several so-called professionals who suggested Johnson might be opening himself up to “influence purchasing.”
Democrats have already tried to fundraise off of Speaker Johnson’s election, sending a flurry of fundraising appeals in the subsequent days recommending the Louisiana Republican will try to repeal LGBT rights or even more deteriorate abortion defenses since the overturning of Roe v. Wade. A number of Republicans in swing districts are expected to face difficult reelections next year, though Speaker Johnson already produced Republicans’ finest fundraising week of the cycle, a sign that his leadership might supply incumbents with outsized war chests for the months ahead.
