Mike Johnson Cops Out Over Trump Demand to Jail Illinois Leaders

House Speaker Mike Johnson doesn’t seem the least bit disturbed that President Donald Trump wants to lock up Illinois Democrats amid his federal takeover of Chicago.

During a press conference Wednesday, Johnson was asked whether he agreed with Trump’s outlandish plea to imprison Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker for supposedly failing to protect ICE officers.

“Should they be in prison? Uh, should the mayor of Chicago and the governor of Illinois be in prison? Um, I’m not the attorney general, I’m the speaker of the House, and I’m trying to manage the chaos here, I’m not following the day to day on that,” Johnson said.

But the Louisiana Republican didn’t settle for a simple nonanswer, and how he felt about the president’s threat became all too clear.

“I do know that they resisted the introduction, or the offering of National Guard troops in Chicago, which is a terribly dangerous city, which has been destroyed—in the process of being destroyed under liberal, Democrat governance and their terrible polices,” Johnson continued.

He cited Trump’s federal crackdown in Washington, D.C., claiming that the streets of the nation’s capital were finally safe because Trump had “used the resources that were available to him to bring order to the chaos.”

“If we can do that in the other major cities in the country where they’re having crime crises, that should be seen as a positive, and I think most Americans see it that way,” he said.

Clearly, Johnson thinks Illinois Democrats should be grateful that Trump has decided to invade their cities with National Guard troops and immigration enforcement officers, rather than sue the federal government to stop the deployment of federal forces. A judge declined to immediately block the administration but warned, “If I were the federal government, I would strongly consider taking a pause on this until Thursday.” The National Guard has landed in Chicago nonetheless.

Over the weekend, a protest broke out after a fuming Border Patrol officer fired multiple shots at a protester who was part of a convoy of vehicles trailing agents on patrol. The Department of Homeland Security blamed “JB Pritzker’s Chicago Police Department” for refusing to help secure the area. The Chicago mayor has also moved to establish “ICE-free zones” that have infuriated the White House.

Notably, this isn’t the first time the president has threatened to imprison his political enemies, or anyone who stands in the way of what he wants.

White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller is facing scrutiny online for his claim about the president’s possession of “plenary authority” in an odd CNN interview earlier this week.

Asked Monday if the Trump administration would abide by U.S. District Judge Karin J. Immergut’s ruling temporarily blocking the deployment of National Guard troops in Portland, Oregon, Miller abruptly stopped an answer after invoking that legal concept.

The White House aide noted that the administration was appealing the decision. “Under Title 10 of the U.S. Code, the president has plenary authority, has—” Miller added, before stopping short and staring into the camera, blinking silently, as CNN host Boris Sanchez asked if he could hear him.

Returning after a commercial break, the interviewer said the moment was spurred by a “technical difficulty,” telling Miller, “It seems like some wires got crossed.” Returning to his answer, Miller did not mention “plenary authority” again.

“I was making the point that under federal law, Section Title 10 of the U.S. Code, the president has the authority, anytime he believes federal resources are insufficient, to federalize the National Guard to carry out a mission necessary for public safety,” Miller said.

The clip has gone viral online, with many social media users speculating that there was no technical malfunction; Miller, they claim, had glitched out of panic, after accidentally revealing the authoritarian designs of the administration.

The term “plenary power,” after all, refers to “complete power over a particular area with no limitations.”

CNN’s statements cast doubt on the internet theories, as does the fact that Miller has used the phrase before. Nonetheless, his apparent claim that the president enjoys absolute, unfettered power to federalize the National Guard is indeed eyebrow-raising—and incorrect. As evidenced by Immergut’s ruling, the president’s power in that area is subject to certain constraints.

Under the statute to which Miller seemingly referred, the president can federalize the National Guard under narrow circumstances: to “repel” an “invasion,” “suppress” a “rebellion,” or execute laws that he is unable to “with the regular forces.” But, according to Immergut, these conditions were not satisfied in Portland—despite the administration’s hysterical claims—and the deployment would injure Oregon’s state sovereignty.

In decrying the ruling throughout the week—including equating it with “illegal insurrection”—Miller has shown his disdain for the entire concept of judicial review.

Miller has previously mused about “plenary authority.” After the president attempted to fire Federal Reserve board member Lisa Cook, Miller told reporters that “the president’s authority, as the head of the executive branch, to terminate executive branch employees is a plenary authority”—overlooking certain constitutional and statutory constraints.

Even if not for the exact reasons social media users believe, the “plenary authority” clip was indeed revealing, exemplifying the maximalist conception of presidential power pushed by Miller and the Trump administration.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi needed a cheat sheet of attacks to dodge Senator Sheldon Whitehouse’s tough questions.

While sitting before the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday, Bondi repeatedly refused to answer questions from the Rhode Island Democrat about what happened to the $50,000 cash bribe border czar Tom Homan received from undercover FBI agents in 2024.

Reuters photographer Jonathan Ernst captured an image of the inside of a folder of notes Bondi referred to during questioning by Whitehouse. But her notes had nothing to do with her work as leader of the Department of Justice, or even the embattled border czar. Rather, Bondi had collected screenshots of social media posts, prewritten comebacks, and handwritten notes she hoped could give her a good “gotcha” moment.

The top of the folder showed a July X post from Whitehouse in which he’d called for an investigation into Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. “No government official should be above the law,” he wrote.

Also included in the folder was a bulleted list of comebacks. Apparently, Bondi needed to prepare the remark “You are a total hypocrite” in advance.

She employed another one of her prewritten attacks when asked about Homan’s tax returns. “Senator, I would be more concerned if I were you when you talk about corruption and money, when you pushed for legislation that subsidized your wife’s company!” Bondi sneered.

“The questions here are actually pretty specific,” Whitehouse replied, undeterred. “So, having you respond with completely irrelevant far-right internet talking points is really not very helpful here.”

Below her catalog of clapbacks, Bondi had written a handwritten note “On Epstein” positing whether Whitehouse had ever accepted money from Reid Hoffman, who once invited Epstein to dinner. She used the tidbit to deflect from a question about whether the FBI had seized photos of President Donald Trump with half-naked young women from the safe at Epstein’s estate, as reported by author Michael Wolff.

“Do you know if the FBI found those photographs in their search of Jeffrey Epstein’s safe or premises or otherwise? Have you seen any such thing?” Whitehouse asked.

“You know, Senator Whitehouse, you sit here and make salacious remarks, once again trying to slander President Trump left and right, when you’re the one who was taking money from one of Epstein’s closest confidants, Reid Hoffman,” Bondi replied.

Again, Whitehouse continued unbothered. “The question is, did the FBI find those photographs that have been discussed publicly by a witness who claimed Jeffrey Epstein showed them to him. You don’t know anything about that?” he asked, and Bondi fell silent, having exhausted her scant notes.

It’s disturbing, but not surprising, that Bondi didn’t make actual preparations to answer tough questions from senators. It appears that the attorney general felt no obligation to be accountable to the American people about alleged efforts to cover up for Trump or his underlings, believing them all to be above the law.

Fractures atop the Republican Party are further complicating negotiations to end the government shutdown.

President Donald Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune have not only failed to conjure a resolution to the ongoing shutdown, but they have also failed to conceal the tension bubbling beneath the surface.

So far, Trump’s strategy—which prioritizes punishing his political allies—has only tripped up his congressional counterparts.

On Monday, Trump stepped over his allies’ messaging when he told reporters he was “talking to Democrats” about cutting a deal on health care. He quickly walked it back, posting to Truth Social: “I am happy to work with the Democrats on their Failed Healthcare Policies, or anything else, but first they must allow our Government to re-open.”

On Tuesday, Johnson said that he had spoken with Trump “at length” about the urgent need to reopen the government—but Thune didn’t seem to be on the same page. That same day, the South Dakota lawmaker told reporters that there were “ongoing conversations” among party leadership.

Hours later, a draft White House memo reported by Axios revealed that the Trump administration was questioning the legality of the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, which guarantees back pay for furloughed federal workers. Both Thune and Johnson had voted for it, but the Senate majority leader struggled to contain his frustration at Trump’s attempt to undermine it now.

“All you have to do to prevent any federal employee from not getting paid is to open up the government,” Thune told reporters Tuesday. “I don’t know what statute they are using. My understanding is, yes, that they would get paid. I’ll find out. I haven’t heard this up until now.

“But again it’s a very straightforward proposition, and you guys keep chasing that narrative that they’ve got going down at the White House and up here with the Democrats,” Thune added.

Johnson told reporters that he supported federal back pay and believed that the White House did, as well—but Trump quickly poured cold water on that.

“I would say it depends who we’re talking about,” Trump told reporters, just hours later. “For the most part, we’re going to take care of our people, but for some people they don’t deserve to be taken care of.”

President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the jailing of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker.

“Chicago Mayor should be in jail for failing to protect Ice Officers!” Trump wrote in a brief Truth Social post. “Governor Pritzker also!”

The threat comes as National Guard troops have landed in Chicago at the direction of the president, over Pritzker’s and Johnson’s objections. Johnson also received the White House’s ire Monday for an executive order establishing “ICE-free zones” in the city.

Illinois sued the administration on Monday in hopes of halting the troops’ deployment. Scheduling a hearing for Thursday, U.S. District Judge Judge April M. Perry, who is overseeing the case, declined to immediately block the administration, but warned, “If I were the federal government, I would strongly consider taking a pause on this until Thursday.” The National Guard arrived this week nonetheless.