Speaker Johnson's Fundraising Abilities Spark Concern

Just a few days into newly elected Speaker of the House Michael Johnson's (R-LA) term, some members of the GOP are concerned about his abilities to fundraise for the party's candidates.

Speaker Johnson was elected on Oct. 25, 2023, after three weeks of turmoil in the House of Representatives. The election process was marked by infighting and a bevy of candidates. However, now it is Johnson's turn to run the House. Yet, his time as speaker could be filled with angst and low financial support for GOP members.

From the time his campaign began to the beginning of 2023, Rep. Johnson has only raised $600,000. This small amount highlights what many would consider to be inexperience. Nevertheless, Johnson tried to assuage concerns.

In an interview with Politico, Jeff Miller, fundraiser and adviser to former speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R), stated that he would be willing to help Johnson raise funds.

Rep. Johnson will still have to face an uphill battle. In his entire career, he has never raised more than $1.4 million. Furthermore, much of his funds have come from large donors and PACS, and not smaller donors.

In what has been described as a honeymoon period, many current politicians have expressed their excitement and approval to work with Johnson. After three weeks of indecision and inter and intraparty fighting, many in Congress are probably happy to at least have a speaker of the House.

In other news, former attorney to former president Donald Trump (R), Michael Cohen, has begun to testify against Trump in his civil fraud trial. Trump is being accused of falsifying his net worth to several individuals including potential investors and profitable corporations.

Over the years, Trump has been known to share his fluctuating billionaire status. However, it is been revealed that the specific amount of money that Trump holds in assets has been subject to change depending on how he attempted to represent himself.

On Oct. 24, Cohen testified that the former president would deny having a $4.5 billion net worth and claim that his net worth was closer to $6 billion. These numbers were allegedly drawn from “comparables” in which Trump based his property values on the value of other—allegedly more expensive—properties.

Trump was stated to be very upset with Cohen during the trial. He is noted as crossing his arms, “leaning forward”, and becoming red in color.