Johnson claims town hall protesters ‘paid’ by Democrats

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) denounced recent protests at town halls that featured GOP lawmakers, claiming the demonstrators were “paid” by Democrats.

“The videos you saw of the town halls were for paid protesters in many of those places,” Johnson told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins in an interview Wednesday.

“These are Democrats who went to the events early and filled up the seats,” he said on “The Source,” in a clip highlighted by Mediaite.

Collins interjected after, saying the Republican leader couldn’t “argue they were all paid protesters, though, Mr. Speaker.”

“A Republican acknowledged they were his constituents,” she countered.

Johnson seemed to brush off the comment.

“One Republican acknowledged they were … constituents. That’s fantastic, OK, but they had Democrats come and fill the seats early, all right?” Johnson said. “This is an old playbook that they pulled out and ran, and it made it look like that what is happening in Washington is unpopular.”

“But I’m going to tell you, Kaitlan, the American people are behind what’s happening,” he added, seemingly referring to President Trump’s legislative agenda and moves to cut federal spending by laying off government workers.

The comments also come after the House GOP narrowly passed its budget blueprint, which would stave off a government shutdown next month and advance Trump’s priorities forward. Senate Republicans remain skeptical and have suggested changes are imminent before they sign on.

The New York Times recently reported of a slew of critics of tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has emerged as a senior adviser to the president, as well as those with concerns about their social safety net, making their way to Republican town halls.

Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) was specifically challenged at an event last week about topics such as Medicaid and Social Security cuts, according to Wisconsin Public Radio, as well as Musk’s seemingly unchecked power.

Tough questions about government layoffs were also lobbed at Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) from his constituents at a town hall meeting last week, with the Peach State Republican’s district being in close proximity to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Trump’s moves to overhaul the civil service have also sparked protests across Washington, particularly the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) moves to gut the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Musk has been a key voice in DOGE’s agenda, though the White House has pushed back on claims the Tesla CEO is leading the advisory group.