We hit the road with Mike Johnson and his 1,477 unread text messages

WASHINGTON — Mike Johnson doesn’t even try to put down his phone anymore.

Nearly three years later he Take over as Speaker of the House of RepresentativesThe Louisiana Republican’s job is harder than ever. The self-proclaimed “war spokesman” is trying to advance the Republican agenda with a slim majority while managing unruly colleagues and fielding late-night calls from President Trump as he looks to unite Republicans toward historic victories in this fall’s midterm elections.

“I’m like a triage surgeon on an active battlefield,” he said in a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal. “All I did was go from one crisis to another all day, bleeding from the wounds.”

The 54-year-old speaker, who has often struggled with his Christian faith, has said he wants to stay in office if Republicans retain their majority and believes any possible challenge to the gavel is unlikely to succeed. Asked if he wanted to remain leader if the Republicans lost, he demurred.

“I love people and I love solving problems,” he said. “I like making complex things simple, or trying to do that. I like the idea of ​​facing a challenge.” At the same time, “it’s a very heavy job. It requires total commitment and sacrifice.”

Trump is often late. “‘McGee, are you sleeping?'” Johnson said, imitating the president’s voice during an interview with The Wall Street Journal at a congressional baseball game last month. “No, not really,” Johnson replied. “‘Yes, Mike. I always know when you’re sleeping.’ “

“‘I’m up now. What do you have? What happened?’ “

For several days last month, The Wall Street Journal learned about one of the most politically charged and exhausting jobs in the country. Johnson’s working life is filled with meetings, swarms of reporters asking questions, TV hits, fundraisers and parties. Conflicts over the latest failed vote or intra-party bickering have become a staple of his schedule in the Republican-controlled House, often prompting Trump to intervene.

The Journal interview took place in a back hallway at the Nationals Park — where he delivered a speech rallying the Republican baseball team — after traveling in a motorcade from the Capitol to a conservative women’s event and spending a morning at the Capitol as the speaker tried to rally his members at the weekly Republican meeting.

Johnson admits he can’t keep up with it all. He flashed his phone screen, which showed 1,477 unread text messages and 829 unheard voicemails. He said he was late to major life news, including the death of friends or their loved ones. Johnson said he often apologizes to people who don’t respond promptly: “I’m sorry I didn’t see your six previous texts. I just happened to see this one. I love you.”

Much of his day is broken up into 15- or 30-minute segments, some of which are longer, such as party meetings, a series of votes or a sit-down with Trump. Only twice in the past two years has he attempted to detach and relax in the evenings after returning home from the Capitol to his wife, daughter, who works in Washington, and youngest child. He learned his lesson.

“When I picked up the phone again, it was like a bonfire that needed to be put out as quickly as possible,” he said.

The latest firestorm on Capitol Hill has focused on the stalled Save America Act, which would have imposed stricter voting rules. Trump canceled a signing ceremony for an unrelated bipartisan housing bill at the last minute, saying the voting bill needed to pass first. The news came too late for Johnson, who was on stage promoting housing measures. Democrats said the explosion was the latest sign of Republican dysfunction.

“I speak with the president every day and we will discuss this again,” the spokesman told reporters. “I encourage him to sign it, but it will become law anyway.” measures become law There was no Trump signature last weekend.

Republican leaders have often turned to Trump to help win over recalcitrant members on issues ranging from surveillance rights to spending bills. Johnson said Trump sometimes jokes that the president is the speaker of the House. But Johnson said it was just a joke.

Johnson said there is a “false narrative that President Trump somehow helps run the House.” “It’s a partnership.”

The slim Republican majority, which includes one independent – currently 219 to 212 – means Johnson needs all the help he can get. “We don’t have the luxury of having party discipline like we did before,” Johnson said. “They used to whip people, take things from them and punish them. We can’t do this to catch everyone.”

Johnson visited the White House when Republicans, led by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), took the House hostage by blocking a procedural “rules” vote that began last month. But the impasse centered on the Save America Act continues — even as Trump urges Republicans to end their obstruction — as House Republican leadership sends lawmakers home early to enjoy the July Fourth holiday. The freeze was lifted on Tuesday, and Johnson is now focused on the uphill battle to pass tens of billions of dollars in new military funding.

When Johnson took the gavel, he quickly sought to solidify his position in the House Freedom Caucus, home to many of the members who voted to oust McCarthy.

“I’m not coming to you, I’m from you,” he said he told the conservative caucus. “I woke up thinking exactly like you guys,” he recalled.

Recently, after Johnson said he prayed for passage of the president’s “big beautiful” tax law, Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), a Baptist pastor, questioned the speaker’s faith. Johnson, who has expressed discomfort with directly attacking people of all political stripes, said his first reaction was to challenge Warnock in a national theological debate, but that his staff convinced him in one-on-one meetings with the senator.

Johnson said the two had an “enjoyable” debate about the role of government in helping the poor versus the role of individuals, one that was rooted in everyone’s understanding of the Bible.

Warnock said he and Johnson “had an honest and open conversation about our faith.” He criticized Republican moves to cut spending on health care and nutritional benefits, which he said conflicted with biblical teachings.

Johnson may only have a few months left in office. Polls show congressional Republicans are in trouble in the fall amid falling support for Trump and concerns about the economy. Historically, the president’s party almost always loses House seats in midterm elections.

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesman Vet Shelton said Republicans “have no substantive basis,” citing concerns about health care, natural gas and other costs.

Johnson said he tries to do at least two fundraisers a week. Sometimes he would put two people in the same restaurant so he could talk to one room, eat a corner of the plate, then walk to the other side of a separate room, talk to the next group of people, and eat some more. This number sometimes jumps to four.

As the midterm elections approach, Johnson realizes that if the Republicans can retain their majority, it will be only the second time in 90 years that the president’s party has achieved such a feat.

However, he saw a gap The Rise of the Democratic Socialists They keep winning Democratic primaries. He said it would give voters new reasons to support Republicans — because they see the contrast between “common sense and madness” — and keep him in power.

Write to Olivia Beavers: Olivia.Beavers@wsj.com