A significant and public rift has erupted within the House Republican conference, pitting Representative Elise Stefanik of New York against Speaker of the House Mike Johnson of Louisiana, with Stefanik leveling the serious accusation that the Speaker is actively protecting the deep state by failing to support a critical transparency measure. The conflict centers on Stefanik’s legislative provision, which would mandate the Federal Bureau of Investigation to notify Congress whenever it opens an investigation into a candidate for federal office, a proposal born from the well-documented weaponization of federal agencies against political opponents during the Biden administration and one that aligns with President Donald Trump’s mission to drain the swamp.
I just walked out of a briefing on this issue this morning CONFIRMING everything I posted yesterday.
That yes, in fact, the Speaker is blocking my provision to root out the illegal weaponization that led to Crossfire Hurricane, Arctic Frost, and more. He is siding with Jamie… https://t.co/6fVow5ALFV
— Elise Stefanik (@EliseStefanik) December 2, 2025
Stefanik, who is currently running for Governor of New York, has taken an aggressively public stance, threatening to derail the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) if her provision is not included. She defended the necessity of her proposal on social media, writing, “My provision will strengthen this accountability and transparency to deter this illegal weaponization and it passed out of the House Intelligence Committee in this Congress and previous ones.” In a pointed challenge to the GOP’s purpose, she added, “If Republicans can’t deliver accountability and legislative fixes to arguably the biggest illegal corruption and government weaponization issue of all time, then what are we even doing.” This rhetoric frames the issue not as a minor policy dispute, but as a fundamental test of the party’s commitment to its base and to undoing the deep-state corruption that President Trump has vowed to dismantle.
The congresswoman escalated her accusations by implicating her own party leadership in siding with the opposition and the bureaucratic state. She declared, “It is a scandalous disgrace that Republicans are allowing themselves to be rolled by the Dems and deep state on this.” On Tuesday, after walking out of a briefing on the matter, she issued a blunt ultimatum regarding the NDAA: “This is an easy one. This bill is DOA unless this provision gets added in as it was passed out of committee.” This hardline position underscores the high stakes of the fight, positioning the provision as a non-negotiable element of delivering on promises made to voters who elected a Republican majority to provide a check on an out-of-control federal security apparatus.
Speaker Mike Johnson responded to these sharp criticisms during a briefing with reporters, where he categorically denied Stefanik’s characterization of events and expressed confusion over her targeting him. Johnson stated, “All of that is false. I don’t exactly know why Elise won’t just call me. I texted her yesterday.” He explained the procedural reality, noting, “She’s upset one of her provisions is not being made, I think, in the NDAA… I explained to her on text message… I said, ‘What are you talking about? This hasn’t even made it to my level.’” The Speaker detailed that the provision needed approval from other relevant committees before it could be included in the final bill, and it failed to secure that approval, leaving him, in his telling, without a direct role in its exclusion. He concluded, “I don’t know why she’s frustrated with me. I literally had nothing to do with it. But I’m happy to roll up my sleeves and help her.”
Stefanik swiftly and forcefully rejected the Speaker’s explanation, firing back on social media with renewed accusations of dishonesty and complicity. She wrote, “Just more lies from the Speaker,” and directly challenged his awareness, stating, “It wasn’t on your radar? This is the ONLY provision in the bill to root out the deep state rot.” In her most direct charge, she accused Johnson of aligning with a prominent Democrat, writing, “You torpedoed this siding with Jamie Raskin.
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You said you would fix it, so fix it.” This exchange reveals a fundamental clash not just over process, but over perceived priorities, with Stefanik casting the provision as an essential litmus test for confronting the administrative state—a core Trump-era imperative—while Johnson’s response emphasizes conference procedure and internal diplomacy. The feud highlights the ongoing tension within the GOP between an aggressive, reformist wing determined to enact systemic change and a leadership navigating the complexities of a slim majority, all while the specter of past federal overhang against figures like President Trump looms large over the debate.