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It was the first day back in Washington after a long winter break, and Speaker Mike Johnson was under pressure to pass a short-term funding bill in the coming days to avoid a government shutdown.
With far-right Republicans in full-scale revolt against the plan, everyone on Capitol Hill wanted to know what the inexperienced leader would do next and whether it would lead to his ouster.
After taking less than six minutes to answer questions at a press conference, Mr. Johnson cut off the reporters’ barrage of questions with a silent signal, like a taxi light going off, signaling that he was no longer available. He held his smartphone to his ear and walked at breakneck speed, out of sight.
It’s a ploy Mr. Johnson has frequently used to dodge questions since he won the speakership in the fall, and given the difficult task of governing in a deeply divided House of Representatives and a shrinking Republican majority. It comes with it.
Johnson, a four-term Louisiana Republican, regularly stopped for hallway interviews before his election in October. They are a staple of lawmakers’ lives in the Capitol, where accredited reporters roam freely except in a few secure spaces, buttonholing members wherever they find them. Mr. Johnson often stopped to speak in the marble hallway surrounding the House chamber, holding impromptu and sometimes lengthy question-and-answer sessions with reporters before and after votes.
But since winning the gavel, Mr. Johnson has eschewed that ritual, adopting one of the most common tactics in the strategy of members of Congress: speaking or pretending to speak on the phone. These days, Mr. Johnson no longer adopts his preferred posture when walking through the Capitol from the Oval Office to the House floor and back. And most of the time, you’ll need to use your iPhone as a buffer.
The “on the phone” gesture acts as a shield against unwanted interrogation in the hallway, is a nonverbal all-purpose refusal that conveys your busyness without appearing to be intrusive, and can be extremely awkward if ignored. with the possibility of becoming (Is it a fake call, a sick child, or the President of the United States? It’s hard for journalists to tell who, if anyone, is on the other end of the phone. That’s what matters.)
When Johnson isn’t holding his phone to his ear while walking, he may be taking notes or reviewing a paper. Photographers have complained that it’s difficult to get photos of Mr. Johnson looking up.
And it remains rare for Mr Johnson to address questions about his work in the House of Commons or other matters unless he is busy with other commitments. As he passed through the Capitol on Tuesday morning, his 52nd birthday, a reporter asked him what he was doing to celebrate his birthday.
“I’m working,” Mr. Johnson answered bluntly. He didn’t answer any other questions.
His remote approach is a sharp departure from the way Mr Johnson’s two immediate predecessors handled the public-facing parts of parliament’s most powerful jobs. Kevin McCarthy, a talkative extrovert, couldn’t help but talk to reporters multiple times a day as he roamed the Capitol, walking around and holding impromptu press conferences in Statuary Hall.
As the situation became more difficult, Mr. McCarthy seemed to become more involved with the press, sometimes pulling off one-shot gags several times a day and unexpectedly inserting himself into live television broadcasts. , were starting to talk more. Even on his worst days, Mr. McCarthy always seemed to have time for the media. Even if his words were messed up from time to time, he had to go back and forth with the press to sort things out.
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi also frequently answered questions as reporters escorted her through the building. She also held weekly solo press conferences, typically taking questions for about 30 minutes.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, a longtime Republican leader from Kentucky, also holds weekly Q&A sessions with reporters outside the Senate chamber. But outside of formal news conferences, the taciturn McConnell takes a more direct, cold-blooded approach to deflecting hallway questions he prefers to avoid. They just stare straight ahead and keep walking, as if the person asking the question doesn’t exist.
Some observers have speculated that Johnson’s relatively nervous attitude stems from his lack of experience in his new post. His aides say this is strategic. He doesn’t want to muddy the day’s message. Mr Johnson knows that all of his comments are now under a microscope, and his approach is premised on the premise that less is more.
That means participating in weekly news conferences with other House Republican leaders, a collective event in which he is one voice among many and few others. His aides have noted that his presence in television interviews has added to the small space in which he conducts his media activities under the Capitol dome.
Commuting through the Capitol can be a minefield of conversations for lawmakers. The journalists and photographers lurking in every hallway and stairwell are an acknowledged part of the Capitol ecosystem, and answering their questions about the day’s news is part of the job expectations of elected officials. This is the department.
For people who like attention, media scrutiny is a treat.
“My motto is, ‘Almost all news organizations are good news organizations,'” said Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat who is often known for his inability to avoid comment. He said Khanna never thought of using the phone to avoid questions. He said if a reporter approaches him to talk, he’s likely to hang up.
But for lawmakers who don’t like answering questions, the “phone-in” strategy is a convenient way to signal to journalists looking for comment or sarcasm that they should look elsewhere.
“Actually, I would do it as a joke,” said former Minnesota senator and comedian Al Franken. “I would just put my thumb in my ear and be like, ‘I’m on the phone.’ Sometimes I’d say I’m on the phone with the president.”
Franken said this could be an effective way to dodge reporters, but acknowledged that since Blackberries have become obsolete, it’s no longer a completely reliable strategy for navigating the Capitol. . “He doesn’t want to be around,” he said of Johnson. “That’s up to him. Then he’ll have to live with the consequences and you’ll write an article about it.”
For some, the consequences include being able to spot a lie. Sen. Ron Johnson, Republican of Wisconsin, answered the phone in June 2022 when reporters pressed him to explain his role in trying to deliver fake electoral rolls to former Vice President Mike Pence’s aides. He pretended to be there and left the Capitol.
“I’m on the phone,” Johnson said. Except he wasn’t.
“No, you’re not. I can see your phone. I can see the screen,” NBC News reporter Frank Thorpe V responded.
Mr Johnson eventually gave up on the ruse, put his phone back in his pocket and responded to the reporters following him. (“That’s not the point at all,” he finally said, adding, “I don’t even know what your concern is here.”)
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, has threatened to remove Johnson from the speakership if he introduces a bill that includes additional funding for Ukraine, saying phone tricks are not her style. Stated.
“I don’t think you’ll ever see me walking around on my phone anymore,” Green said. In recent years, she has taken a friendlier approach to the mainstream media that used to serve as her foil. “But I’m going to see if Mike Johnson will try to avoid me like that.”
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