Speaker Mike Johnson Says Voters ‘Made The Wrong Choice’ In Midterms, Predicts Two Years Of ‘Chaos’ Under Democrats

WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 20: President Donald Trump arrives with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) for a House Republican meeting at the U.S. Capitol on May 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump will join conservative House lawmakers to help push through their budget bill after it advanced through the House Budget Committee on Sunday evening. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Lame-duck House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) is blaming voters, not his party, for the GOP’s midterm drubbing, saying Americans “made the wrong choice” by handing Democrats control of Congress.

The remarks came days after Johnson announced he won’t stay on as House Republican leader, and weeks after he insisted that Republicans could only lose the House “because the people were misled.“

Returning to Capitol Hill on Monday for his final weeks as speaker, Johnson told CNN’s Manu Raju that he wouldn’t tell President Donald Trump how to “course correct” after last week’s losses. Johnson said he wouldn’t tell the president how to do his job.

“We have an incredible record of the first two years of his term, and I expect more success in the days ahead,” Johnson said. “I’m sorry that the voters made the wrong choice.”

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“I really do believe that the next two years is going to be a bit of a circus,” he continued. “It’s going to be chaos … and that’s a great tragedy.”

Johnson argued that had Republicans held their majority, they would have stayed “on course to continue delivering for the people.”

Democrats seized on the comments. On Tuesday, Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Massachusetts) took to the House floor to blast Johnson’s response.

“Speaker Johnson said yesterday that ‘the voters made the wrong choice.’ Are you kidding me?” McGovern said, adding that Republicans were “doubling down on the same tactics and messaging” that cost them the election.

“It’s a perfect example of why they lost in the first place,” McGovern said. “They do not listen.”

The comments mark a sharp shift in tone from election night, when an emotional Johnson told supporters in Shreveport, Louisiana, “To every American disappointed by tonight’s results, I mean, I am disappointed, too. But we are never discouraged.”

They also stand in contrast to Johnson’s confidence before Election Day. In late October, he dismissed concerns about a peaceful transfer of power as “absurd,” declaring, “We are going to keep the majority, and I’m going to be the speaker of the House, and I will keep steady hands at the wheel.”

Instead, ABC News and CNN projected on election night that Democrats would take control of both the House and Senate. As of Nov. 12 at 11:36 p.m. ET, the Associated Press’ count showed Democrats had won 255 House seats and Republicans 169. AP’s results counted 11 seats as won for neither party, but they don’t say why or which way they will go. Those numbers may have changed since.

Johnson, who handily won reelection in his Louisiana district, told staff the morning after the election that he would not run for minority leader. Fellow Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan have said they will seek to replace him as the top House Republican.

Trump has praised Johnson as “fantastic” and said he did not ask him to step aside.

Johnson has led House Republicans since October 2023, when he was elected Speaker following the ouster of Kevin McCarthy. In October, he floated leaving politics altogether and returning to Louisiana to start a lawn business if the GOP lost its majority.

Erik Meers is the founder and editor of uPolitics.com and uInterview.com. He was previously the Managing Editor of GQ and Harper’s Bazaar. Follow him on X and Instagram at @erikmeers.

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