Trump and Mike Johnson team up for "election integrity" conference

Washington DC - Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson are joining forces after the former president helped "kill" Johnson's plans to revise the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

House Speaker Mike Johnson will give a news conference alongside Donald Trump on Friday, after the former president helped kill his recent FISA bill.
House Speaker Mike Johnson will give a news conference alongside Donald Trump on Friday, after the former president helped kill his recent FISA bill.  © Collage: Anna Moneymaker & SCOTT OLSON / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

According to NBC News, Johnson will be traveling to Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in Florida on Friday for a news conference regarding "election integrity."

When asked to elaborate on the focus of the conference, Johnson said they would discuss "free and fair elections."

News of the conference comes after Trump ordered his allies in the House to "kill" Johnson's plan to enact "sweeping changes" to FISA, which outlines procedures for how the government can access and use surveillance and intelligence information.

Trump gets billions in donations from SoftBank to advance AI: "A double-down president"
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The bill, unsurprisingly, failed on Wednesday.

Johnson is also facing an aggressive effort led by Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of Trump's staunchest allies, to have him ousted.

Why is Mike Johnson meeting with Donald Trump?

Donald Trump is currently facing criminal charges for attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Donald Trump is currently facing criminal charges for attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.  © Megan Varner / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

Some critics believe Johnson is attempting to get in Trump's good graces to help win over Trump's allies in the House and possibly get MTG to back down.

Others have pointed out the irony of the two speaking on "election integrity," as Trump is facing criminal charges for his alleged attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election, an effort in which Johnson played a "key role."

Prior to being elected speaker, Johnson, following Trump's orders, rallied support for a Texas lawsuit that sought to invalidate election results in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

The suit was rejected by the Supreme Court.

Cover photo: Collage: Anna Moneymaker & SCOTT OLSON / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

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