Johnson’s time as speaker has been rocky, to say the least. Some Republicans are pushing for him to vacate his post.
And House Speaker Mike Johnson was double-crossed by a GOP ally he thought could be trusted.
According to what sources said to Breitbart News, House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications is leaving his role.
Raj Shah, the staffer in question, was one of the first people hired by Johnson after he became speaker.
Axios also reported on the story and was able to gather quotes from Johnson and Shah regarding his departure.
“Because of the unprecedented circumstances under which I became Speaker, I needed an experienced leader with talent and gravitas to build and drive our message,” Johnson said to the outlet.
“I am grateful Raj agreed to step up and serve. He has become a trusted advisor and built an incredible communications team. Raj has fulfilled his commitment to us and I wish him continued success.”
But the communications team that Shah built is starting to crumble.
According to Notus and the information they gathered from sources, the House Speaker’s Head of Digital Anang Mittal resigned from his post after complaints came out against him regarding his apparent unprofessional behavior and his poor performance.
Punchbowl News also reported that three senior policy staff members for the speaker are planning to leave at the end of the month.
Shah doesn’t seem to have any hard feelings towards Johnson and even offered him compliments when speaking to Axios about leaving his position.
“It’s an honor to serve Speaker Johnson, especially through such an historic time. He has shown tremendous leadership navigating the conference through difficult issues,” Shah said.
“Speaker Johnson has developed an authentic brand of a strong leader willing to make tough calls and place our nation and the institution first.”
For now its likely that Shah is leaving on relatively good terms. But overall it’s concerning that Johnson is losing so many staffers at once.
He’s been heavily criticized by staunch conservatives for siding with Democrats on several issues, such as providing more aid to Ukraine.
There have been efforts made by Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) to try and oust Johnson from his seat.
Those efforts have calmed in recent weeks, but there’s no guarantee that they are going away for good.
Former President Donald Trump has come to the defense of Johnson’s at times which has likely taken some of the pressure off of the speaker.
But with staff departures continuing, it’s pretty much a sure thing that Mike Johnson is still feeling various levels of pressure as he continues on with the speakership.
Stay tuned to The Federalist Wire.
