CNN’s Jake Tapper took his interview with Mike Johnson to a personal level as he quizzed the Republican House Speaker on how his support for President-elect Donald Trump’s controversial Cabinet nominations squared with his Christian family values.
Johnson has been asked by several Republican congressmen and senators to release the details in a House Ethics Committee investigation into allegations that Matt Gaetz, who is Trump’s pick for Attorney General, had sex with a 17-year-old.
In an interview on Sunday, Tapper challenged the House Speaker on whether he planned to release the report and on his support of Trump’s cabinet choices, which include more than one man who has been accused of sexual assault.
“Take a step back, because you and I have known each other for a long time,” Tapper began. “You’re a man of faith. You’re a man of God, you’re a man of family. With some of these nominees – Gaetz, Hegseth, RFK Jr. –I wonder, does it matter anymore for Republicans to think of leaders as people who are moral in their personal lives? Is that still important to the Republican Party?”
“It’s an important issue for anyone in leadership,” Johnson agreed before going on a rambling spiel about how Trump’s picks will buck the “status quo.”
“I think what the American people have believed, and what they delivered with the mandate in this election, is demand that we shake up the status quo,” he continued. “It’s not working for the American people. So use the term in the opening about how these are disruptors. They are, I think that’s by design.”
Johnson also called on the Senate to swiftly approve Trump’s cabinet picks so that they can “run with” the administration on day one.
During the interview, Johnson also said he had not discussed the investigation report into Gaetz with Trump and that the report should not be published as Gaetz was no longer a member of the House since his resignation earlier this week.
“There’s a very important protocol and tradition and rule that we maintain that the House Ethics committee’s jurisdiction does not extend to non members of Congress. I think that would be a Pandora’s box. I don’t think we want the House Ethics Committee using all of its vast resources and powers to go after private citizens, and that’s what Matt Gaetz is now.”
Tapper pointed out that there had been precedent for the House releasing ethics committee reports into members who have resigned.
“There have been, I understand, I think two exceptions to the rule over the whole history of Congress and the history of the ethics committee, but I wasn’t the speaker at that time,” Johnson said.
“I’m the speaker now. The speaker does not have the authority to stop the release of a report by the ethics committee, but I’ve just simply said what I believe is an obvious point, that we don’t want to go down that road. I don’t think you want the house ethics committee investigating Jake Tapper or any other private citizen,” Johnson added.
He also claimed that the investigation had not been completed.