House Speaker Mike Johnson loses temper, curses at GOP lawmaker over stalled veterans bill

House Speaker Mike Johnson is losing patience with the ongoing chaos within his own caucus.

The Louisiana lawmaker recently invited a group of Republicans into his "ceremonial room" to salvage a bipartisan veterans bill—a party priority that had been jeopardized by a handful of unruly members.

Representative Anna Paulina Luna was among those present. She had opposed the large military benefits package, arguing against pay increases for veterans over concerns that it could reduce disability claims. According to multiple sources who spoke to NOTUS, Luna began yelling at Iowa Representative Zach Nunn, who supported the measure, before turning her anger toward Johnson.

That is when the typically soft-spoken speaker lost his composure.

"I'm sick of this shit," Johnson snapped, according to sources in the room.

The outburst was uncharacteristic of Johnson, who later not only apologized to Luna but also knelt before the elementary-school-age son of Representative Gabe Evans to express regret for cursing in front of him.

Ultimately, Johnson was forced to revert to a strategy that has become routine due to seemingly insurmountable disagreements from a small faction within his party: He pulled the bill.

A small group of conservatives has repeatedly disrupted the Republican agenda, refusing to act as team players and making governance nearly impossible, according to several lawmakers who spoke with NOTUS.

"It creates anger and resentment," retiring Nebraska Representative Don Bacon told the outlet. "We want to get things done, and dysfunction's not good."

A collection of far-right lawmakers has learned that they can effectively hold their votes on important measures hostage to secure concessions—a tactic that has not only worked, as Johnson placates them to maintain his party's razor-thin majority, but has also deeply frustrated other Republicans.

"The Republican conference is a diverse gathering of people, some of whom are really effective at getting things done and others who are more interested in knocking things down," South Dakota Representative Dusty Johnson told NOTUS.

This disruptive blueprint is nothing new—at least not in recent history. In 2023, a group of eight Republicans—led by disgraced former Florida Representative Matt Gaetz—used the same strategy to oust Kevin McCarthy after the former House speaker failed to rein them in. Johnson may want to ensure his party does not do the same to him.

Read more about Johnson:

• The Christian Nationalist Group Mike Johnson Just Called "Home"

Trump Tariffs Spark Backlash from U.S. Trading Partners

President Trump's justification for his latest round of tariffs has angered foreign leaders.

The White House on Friday imposed tariffs between 10 and 12.5 percent on 60 countries worldwide, citing Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows import duties on countries that use forced labor. However, U.S. trading partners have criticized the move, with Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell calling them "completely unjustified."

"We believe that amongst all of the countries in the world Australia does take the issue of slavery, modern slavery, seriously, and will continue to do that," Farrell said.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon described the tariffs as "extremely disappointing" and stated that the U.S. lacked evidence to claim his country uses slave labor.

"Tariffs are not the way—they drive up costs and uncertainty for businesses," he wrote in a post on X.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas took offense at the forced labor allegations, arguing that EU labor laws are better for workers than those in the U.S.

"If you compare our labor laws to the ones of the United States, I mean we have, people have paid vacations, we have very good conditions, labor conditions for our employees, so it's not really grounded," Kallas said.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara stated: "It is regrettable that the measure imposes tariffs on the grounds of non-existence of measures banning imports of goods made by forced labor, even though Japan's industry and trade are in line with international rules."