Johnson battles ABC over government shutdown and Hegseth press access

House Speaker Mike Johnson sparred with ABC News anchor Jonathan Karl on Sunday over Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s rhetoric about Pentagon press policy and Johnson’s rhetoric about anti-Trump “No Kings” protests across the country.

“Do you have any idea why the Secretary of Defense is afraid to interact with the journalists covering him?” Karl asked Johnson.

Hegseth is implementing a new policy that requires journalists to agree to certain conditions in order to be granted access. Many news organizations oppose the policy, and dozens of reporters turned in their press badges last week rather than comply.

Johnson backtracked and said: “Fear is not part of the make-up of the Secretary of War, OK?”

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Karl argued that Hegseth has held only two press conferences since leading the Pentagon.

“And in fact, they forced the Pentagon press out of the building unless they agreed to sign a commitment that would make it impossible to become independent journalists,” Karl said.

Johnson said Hegseth’s public appearances and speeches show his transparency.

“I don’t remember, and I don’t think you can remember, a defense minister who talked so transparently, so openly about priorities and principles and things,” Johnson said.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth addresses reporters during a Pentagon press conference in Arlington, Virginia, June 26, 2025. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

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Karl also pressed Johnson on his rhetoric that the “No to Kings” protests across the country were rallies to hate America.

“Based on the idea that these were ‘hate America’ rallies — and you didn’t just mention the anarchists, the antifa advocates, the pro-Hamas wing — you said this is the modern Democratic Party,” Karl said. “But I remember what you said not long ago, after the murder of Charlie Kirk, when you said we should view our fellow Americans as our fellow citizens, not our enemies.”

Johnson also pushed back after Karl said some of the language reminded him of Hillary Clinton’s infamous “pathetic” remarks about supporters of President Donald Trump. But he said he was trying to warn Americans about the modern Democratic Party.

“Look at what’s going on in New York,” Johnson said, referring to the rise of Zohran Mamdani. “They’re about to elect an avowed socialist Marxist as mayor of America’s largest city.”

Karl and Johnson also went back and forth about shutting down when Karl demanded to know why the House was not in session.

“The parliament fulfilled its duty exactly one month ago today, on September 19. We accepted the clean decision,” he said. “Democrats voted 11 times, all but three Democrats in the Senate, voted 11 times to shut down the government and stop these programs,” Johnson said.

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House Speaker Mike Johnson, Rep. Lisa McClain, and Rep. Steve Scalise, from left, at a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, October 16, 2025 in Washington, DC, USA. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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“If President Trump were king, the government would be open right now,” Johnson said at one point.