Rand Paul: Mike Johnson ‘Completely Changed’ Principles After Becoming Speaker

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said over the weekend Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson “completely changed” his principles after ascending to his position.

Paul took issue with Johnson for forcing a tie vote against a spy bill amendment that conservative Republicans and some progressives supported.

“Conservatives and progressives teamed up to demand an amendment the for reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) last week, which would have required a warrant for government spying on Americans. The amendment vote came to a tie after Johnson’s vote against it, tanking the change,” noted The Hill.

“The FISA amendment vote was bipartisan, with 86 Republicans — including Johnson — and 126 Democrats voting against it. Paul, a libertarian-minded conservative, was a major Senate backer of the FISA amendment,” it added.

Speaking with Fox News Sunday, Paul said Speaker Johnson betrayed some of the conservative values he previously espoused.

.@RepAndyBiggsAZ said Speaker Mike Johnson kowtowing to the intelligence agencies on a surveillance law is an example of the D.C. cartel. https://t.co/nfL1FYAs3S

— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) April 9, 2024

“Speaker Johnson was incredibly wrong,” Paul said. “He broke the tie. He voted with the Democrats. Here we have the leader of the Republicans in the House votes with the Democrats against a warrant requirement.”

“We also have Speaker Johnson voting for the spending package once again with a majority of the Democrats,” he continued. “As I see it now, I’m not so sure there’s a difference between Mike Johnson being in charge and the Democrats being in charge.”

Paul said Johnson “hasn’t held his ground” since becoming House Speaker, adding he has not done much to differentiate himself from Democrats.

“Johnson hasn’t held his ground,” Paul said. “He has power. He has a majority. Use the power of the purse. Speaker Johnson, do something to make us think you are different than the Democrats. But so far I don’t see a lot of difference.”

Paul Roland Bois directed the award-winning Christian tech thriller, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed for FREE on YouTube or Tubi. “Better than Killers of the Flower Moon,” wrote Mark Judge. “You haven’t seen a story like this before,” wrote Christian Toto. A high-quality, ad-free rental can also be streamed on Google Play, Vimeo on Demand, or YouTube Movies. Follow on X @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.