"His chronic ignorance looks less like a habit than a strategy a way to stay in the good graces of President Donald Trump, who rewards loyalty above all. In Trump's Washington, knowledge is dangerous. Knowing too much can force you to act, make you responsible, even put you at odds with the leader who prefers fealty to fact. So Johnson has mastered a subtler art: performative ignorance. I'm not aware does more than dodge a question it signals allegiance."
"What began as his personal survival tactic has become the operating principle of Republican congressional leadership: the less you know, the less you must do. The pattern is everywhere. Asked about Trump's threats to withhold disaster aid from blue states? They're not familiar. Presidential meddling in DOJ investigations? Haven't been briefed. The ICE purge? I'll have to look into that. It's a party-wide pantomime of obliviousness almost comedic, if the stakes weren't constitutional."
"On July 24, 2025, Johnson told CBS News that the Jeffrey Epstein scandal is not a hoax after weeks of Trump allies dismissing it, yet he helped adjourn the House early the same week to avoid a vote on releasing the files. On October 22, 2025, when asked about reports that President Trump was seeking approximately $230 million from the DOJ as reimbursement for past investigations, Johnson admitted he didn't know the details and hadn't"
Speaker Mike Johnson adopts deliberate ignorance, using phrases like I'm not aware to avoid accountability and signal loyalty to President Donald Trump. Knowledge in Trump's Washington becomes a liability because it can compel action and responsibility; fealty is prioritized over factual oversight. Republican congressional leadership broadly follows this performative ignorance, evading responsibility on issues from disaster-aid threats to DOJ meddling and ICE personnel changes. The pattern manifests in public responses that claim unfamiliarity, postpone inquiries, or adjourn proceedings to avoid votes. Specific incidents include responses to the Jeffrey Epstein files, potential DOJ reimbursements to Trump, and questions about federal layoffs.
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