Speaker Johnson Dismisses Claim Trump Calling the Shots — ‘I Am Calling the Shots for the House’

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that former President Donald Trump “is not calling the shots” for the House.

Partial transcript as follows:

KRISTEN WELKER: Mr. Speaker, you talk about H.R. 2. Again, Senator Lindsey Graham, your Republican colleagues say that that stands no chance of passing through the Senate. You have an opportunity to do something right now about the situation at the border which you’ve been calling for new legislation on the border since you first took office. But let me ask you about Donald Trump. He said any Republican who votes for this deal should be ashamed of themselves. You’ve said you speak to him frequently and that you’ve discussed this deal with him, quote, “at length.” Is Donald Trump calling the shots here, Mr. Speaker?

JOHNSON: Of course not. He is not calling the shot. I am calling the shots for the House. That’s our responsibility. And I have been saying this far longer than President Trump has. I have been saying what the requirements are to fix the problem. I don’t care if they call the legislation H.R. 2 or not. What we’re saying is you have to stem the flow. The president has executive authority right now. As Congress does this negotiation and the debate and the discussion, the president could stop it. Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Supreme Court has already acknowledged gives the president broad executive authority. He could – he could close the border literally overnight but he refuses to do it.

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