Report: Matt Rosendale Traded Israel Funding Vote for Endorsement from Mike Johnson, Who Reneged on Deal

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) traded an endorsement of Rep. Matt Rosendale’s (R-MT) Senate bid in exchange for a vote for aid for Israel, then reneged on the deal, according to a report.

The Daily Beast reported that Johnson reportedly traded Rosendale’s vote on the Israel aid package for endorsement of Rosendale’s bid for the Senate to unseat Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT).

However, after Punchbowl News reported that Johnson would soon endorse Rosendale, the Speaker was told by top Republican strategists that a Rosendale could upend Senate efforts to take back Congress’s upper chamber.

So much backlash ensued from the report of a Johnson endorsement for Rosendale that the Speaker reneged on his deal with the Montana congressman roughly two hours after reports of the endorsement.

Johnson had to call at least one senator and one congressman and told them he no longer planned to endorse Rosendale.

Instead, CNN reported that Johnson would donate to Rosendale’s campaign in lieu of an endorsement.

Despite the backroom trading for Rosendale’s vote, the Israel aid bill still failed after it did not receive a two-thirds majority of the House.

A Johnson spokesperson denied any “horse-trading” between Johnson and Rosendale.

“That’s not true,” a Johnson spokesperson explained to the Daily Beast. “There was no discussion about an endorsement until after the floor was adjourned Tuesday night.”

Rosendale also denied allegations of the deal between him and Johnson.

“That is 100% false,” Rosendale said.

He continued, “It is offensive for anyone to even insinuate that my support for any legislation would be contingent upon the Speaker’s support. The two subjects were never discussed at the same time or in connection with each other.”

A source close to Rosendale claimed the report is:

… an absolute lie being pushed by Tim Sheehy and Mitch McConnell allies that are so terrified of Matt Rosendale entering the U.S. Senate race in Montana that they’d make up an absurd fantastical story based on no evidence about trading an endorsement for a vote on a bill that wasn’t even close.

Despite the staunch denial of a deal, Politico reported that Republicans had “privately expressed concerns” that Rosendale gave his vote for the bill for an endorsement from the Speaker.

“This was the modern day Louisiana purchase,” one Republican operative told the Daily Beast.

This would not be the first flip-flop with Johnson at the helm of the House; he had previously flip-flopped on if he should include a short-term extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

One source told the Daily Beast that the drama is symbolic of how “amateurish” the Speaker and the Senate hopeful are.

The source said, “These people are impossibly dumb.”

Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.