Mike Johnson Seeks Money From Democratic Bill He Called ‘Legislative Malpractice’

WASHINGTON — Like everyone else in his party, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) voted against the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022.

But now that it’s the law, it turns out he’s happy to tap into that money for his district.

In a Nov. 15, 2024, letter, Johnson privately urged the Environmental Protection Agency to award an environmental justice grant to a city in his district ― a grant funded by the IRA, E&E News reported Friday.

“I understand the funds will be used to support their ‘Empowering Communities with Innovative Solutions to Reduce Pollution, Build Climate Resilience and Improve Public Health Project,’” he wrote, per a copy of his letter obtained by E&E News.

The speaker is throwing his support behind a grant application from the city of Minden and Louisiana Tech University. Their project “is designed to focus on water quality and sustainability … specifically targeting underserved communities in north Louisiana,” he wrote.

It’s not clear how much grant money was being requested.

The IRA, which provides more than $369 billion in clean energy incentives, is one of Joe Biden’s signature accomplishments as president. It is the most significant action Congress has ever taken on clean energy and climate change.

Johnson railed against the bill when it passed the House. In a scathing statement, he called it “legislative malpractice,” a “730-page disaster,” and complained that it would send “hundreds of billions of tax dollars to green energy slush funds.”

“Over the next few years, as Americans wonder why consumer prices stayed high and the economy stayed in neutral — while the global climate remained unchanged — they should recall this clueless gang of Washington Democrats who thought that more government spending would ease inflation, that higher taxes would grow the economy, and that government-issued green energy subsidies could change the weather,” he said at the time.

President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to repeal the IRA, and as recently as September, Johnson said he wants major cuts to the law, which he said “is costing twice as much as it was advertised and is sending our taxpayer dollars to China.”

A Johnson spokesman dismissed the apparent contradiction of the speaker trying to get money for his district from a bill he voted against and plans to roll back.

“Despite the media working with a radicalized agency to advance a false narrative, simply asking for fair consideration for the people members of Congress represent — in any method that the federal government spends money — is obviously in no way an expression of support for a disastrous bill that’s caused higher inflation and crushed the American people,” said the spokesman.

An EPA spokesperson did not respond to a request for a copy of Johnson’s letter.

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