Can the GOP ‘defy history’ in the midterms? (with Speaker Mike Johnson)

**Dasha Burns** (0:00)
Presented by AHIP.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:02)
Health plans work every day to shield Americans from high and rising costs by negotiating lower prices from providers and drug makers and protecting consumers against unexpected medical bills. Learn more at ahip.org.

**Mike Johnson** (0:15)
We're gonna hold this majority. We're gonna defy history. We're gonna keep the Republican majority in the House, and we're gonna keep marching forward with this agenda for the people. We're gonna keep the Marxists at bay, and we're gonna defend the greatest nation in the history of the world, and I'm excited about that.

**Dasha Burns** (0:29)
Hello, hello, and welcome to The Conversation. I'm Dasha Burns, and every week on this show, I talk to some of the most compelling power players in Washington and beyond, and this week, I sat down with House Speaker Mike Johnson. While you might expect to see us both in DC, we actually met up in Arizona on one of the many stops that Johnson is making this month to stump for candidates across the country ahead of the midterms. I got to see the Speaker off the floor and on the campaign trail, working to defy historic and present day headwinds to keep the House majority. Helping candidates like Jay Feely in Arizona's first district is going to be critical to that. You are on the ground here. What are the biggest concerns that you're hearing when you talk to voters? In Arizona, one, they care about the economy and they care about affordability. Between the midterms and the legislative agenda through the rest of 2026, Johnson has no shortage of tall orders. At one of the events that I covered, he called himself the ambassador of hope. That seems to be his North Star when dealing with turbulence that he can't control, whether that's overseas conflicts or members of his own caucus embattled in scandal. We dig into all of that. Plus, I ask about his relationship with Senate Majority Leader John Thune and the Trump of it all.
And now, here's my conversation with Speaker Mike Johnson.
All right. Speaker Mike Johnson, thank you so much for joining The Conversation. Glad to be with you. We are here in beautiful, very, very hot Arizona.

**Mike Johnson** (2:03)
It's a dry heat.

**Dasha Burns** (2:04)
It's a dry heat. I'm used to the dry heat. You're used to the Louisiana wet heat. But there are two house races here that could be really critical in the fight for the majority. Republicans can only afford to lose a handful of seats. In fact, you are very well aware of. So just how important are these two races here?

**Mike Johnson** (2:21)
Well, we're here in Arizona. I'm in the midst of about a 30-day nonstop campaign tour around the country. I think we're doing 18 states and maybe 34 districts or something the next few weeks.

**Dasha Burns** (2:31)
So they're making you sing for your supper here.

**Mike Johnson** (2:32)
Yes. I sing for my supper everywhere. So it's a combination of fundraising, campaigning, meeting with the candidates. But Arizona is critically important. You pointed out two of the seats in particular. One we've got to defend, that's Juan Ciscamani in the Tucson area. We've got a really strong candidate to hold a seat that's now vacant right now with Jay Feely. He's a former NFL star and team captain of multiple squads that he was on.

**Dasha Burns** (2:54)
Actually, his opponent was a doctor. I mean, Shaw was a doctor for the Jets at the same time, so they actually had a sidelines relationship. So it's an interesting duo there.

**Mike Johnson** (3:03)
Yeah. But we really like both of these guys. They're great fits for their district. They know them well. They're running well. And these seats really matter, because this is going to be a tight election. We all know. We have to defy history to win the majority and grow the majority. I'm convinced we're going to do that, but it'll be an anomaly because it's only happened twice in about 90 years. That a sitting president has picked up seats for his party. And the president asked me all the time why that is. And you know, it's pretty simple.
When a party wins the White House, the opposing party is usually angry about it, and they come out with a vengeance two years later, and the president takes a hit and a number of seats in the house. I don't think that's going to happen this time. I think this is a midterm unlike any other.

**Dasha Burns** (3:40)
There are a lot of eyebrows that go up when you say you don't think it's going to happen.

**Mike Johnson** (3:44)