So, that new Speaker of the House, that Mike Johnson guy. Soft spoken, serious as a heart attack…he can also be an attack dog when he needs to.

SPEAKER FLASHBACK: Rep. Mike Johnson dismantles Jerry Nadler and the Democrat plan to turn millions of illegal immigrants into Democrat votes:

“This is the plan…to turn all the illegals into voters…our constituents are frightened that we’re losing our country…because we’re… pic.twitter.com/oBdhmnlvKq

— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) November 1, 2023

Everyone seems to be pretty happy on the GOP side with the new guy. It took no time at all to elect him once he made the cut – that alone speaks volumes for him.

As do the people who really objected to him, including the Liz Cheneys and Bill Kristols of the GOPe and Beltway world.

None of the screaming about being a Christian, an insurrectionist, or a homophobe made any difference.

The representative from Louisiana is the new Speaker.

Lefties had to come at him a different way – they’d tried everything else and none of the usual MAGA MAGA MAGA stuck. Yesterday, Roger Sollenberger of The Daily Beast dropped his shot at Johnson after digging through his financials.

What he found shocked him and has horrified Democrats, Progressives, and Washington regulars alike.

I’ll try to break it to you as easily as I can so as to mitigate the effect, but, sad to say, it turns out Speaker Johnson…is no Nancy Pelosi as far as assets go.

Mike Johnson doesn't have any retirement savings, own a single stock, or have any assets at all. He has less than $5,000 in his bank account.

He's got a 250-500K mortgage, a home equity loan, and a personal loan.

So what's his retirement plan? To lobby? https://t.co/xPzUPqqc4w

— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) November 1, 2023

Over it yet?

Well, the Left sure isn’t. They are losing their cotton pickin’ minds. How dare this guy not have a fortune they can pick apart and use to destroy him with?!

…Over the course of seven years, Johnson has never reported a checking or savings account in his name, nor in the name of his wife or any of his children, disclosures show. In fact, he doesn’t appear to have money stashed in any investments, with his latest filing—covering 2022—showing no assets whatsoever.

Of course, it’s unlikely Johnson doesn’t actually have a bank account. What’s more likely is Johnson lives paycheck to paycheck—so much so that he doesn’t have enough money in his bank account to trigger the checking account disclosure rules for members of Congress.

…House Ethics Committee filing guidelines state that members must disclose bank accounts they have at every financial institution, as long as the account holds at least $1,000 and the combined value of all accounts—including those belonging to their spouse and dependent children—exceeds $5,000.

Yeah. Because no American can relate to that. Who doesn’t have thousands in their checking account?

Um…lots of people.

…According to Bankrate’s Annual Emergency Fund Report, 68% of people are worried they wouldn’t be able to cover their living expenses for just one month if they lost their primary source of income. And when push comes to shove, the majority (57%) of U.S. adults are currently unable to afford a $1,000 emergency expense.

But that’s beside the point. The Beast seems to think Congressional salaries are magic money and princely sums that go farther for Republicans than they do for Democrats.

IT’S VERY STRANGE

…”It’s strange to see Speaker Johnson disclose no assets,” Libowitz told The Daily Beast. “He made over $200,000 last year, and his wife took home salary from two employers as well, so why isn’t there a bank account or any form of savings listed?”

Johnson has also carried debts over for several years, which Libowitz said would sharpen the question.

“He owes hundreds of thousands of dollars between a mortgage, personal loan, and home equity line of credit, so where did that money go?” Libowitz said. “If he truly has no bank account and no assets, it raises questions about his personal financial wellbeing.”

God almighty, that IS strange. A mortgage, a personal loan and a home equity line. Nobody has those either. As far as his salary, well I’m sure if he was staying in the home the mortgage was covering, that would be a princely sum, and he might actually be better off.

But he’s not, is he?

He’s living in Washington, so actually having to maintain two residences on that salary as well as…how many kids does he have again?

…All in all, Johnson and his wife appear to have steadily earned more than $200,000 a year, which will see a nice bump under his $223,500 salary as speaker. However, they do face some steep costs—among them raising four children and a second place for Johnson to crash while he’s in D.C.

Four kids on top of two homes, huh?

The Johnson’s seem to be hanging in there okay to me. No, he won’t be paying $2.5M cash for a beach house in Delaware any time soon, but dang if that isn’t refreshing. Almost like he could be your neighbor or something, who happens to work out of town a lot.

And it’s funny they’re so hard on a guy living – with a little help from his wife – solely off his Congressional big bucks, while also paying for four kids, and still making ends meet. Seems rather churlish when you contrast how terribly concerned and sympathetic the same people were to the struggles of a single (as in “unmarried”) chica trying to survive on her miserly Congressional salary.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) lamented the cost of working as a member of Congress in an Instagram post despite her substantial congressional salary.

Members of Congress are required to occupy one residence in Washington, D.C., as well as one in the state from which they are representing, according to the New York Democrat. This leads to “class dynamics” within Congress and causes economic strains for those who struggle to afford two residences, she argued.

…Despite the higher-than-average salary, Ocasio-Cortez argued the requirement to occupy two residences makes things costly for those with working-class backgrounds — and it can distract from legislating and campaigning if members choose to rent rather than buy, she said.

Gosh. That makes me so sad, I almost want to find a chain link fence to cry by.

Can you blame her? AOC laments 'insane' cost of being congresswoman despite $174,000 salary https://t.co/s8YihT5wz0

— Andrea Mahoney (@AndreaGMahoney) July 19, 2022

At least in AOCs case, she can still spring for the $300 stylist visit. I’ll bet Speaker Johnson is a thriftier hair-in-the-chair type.

The Beast gets a little snarky fantasizing about Johnson’s future plans, too, implying he’ll soon be as crooked as the rest, even though he hadn’t succumbed in his previous terms.

They are completely forgetting how this looks to people outside the Beltway. We already know what kind of financial vipers are in the building and the Oval Office, dudes.

…As Johnson takes the speaker reins, his entire life—personal and political—is under new scrutiny. While a low net worth is far from the worst disclosure about Johnson, it’s revealing in several ways. For one, his complete lack of assets shows that, for a conservative, Johnson isn’t as conservative with his own finances as he strives to be with the federal government’s. For another, it could be indicative of his post-Congress plans.

With Johnson appearing to not have even a single dollar in the stock market, a savings account, or a retirement plan, the new speaker may have plans to use his congressional position as a springboard to something more lucrative once he’s done in government. That could happen once he’s done in government, but if the new speaker sees a boon while in office, he certainly wouldn’t be the first member of Congress to do so.

You didn’t have to convince us to give him a chance, but, by God – good job selling him to us anyway.