Mike Johnson Gets Passive Aggressive About Fatal ICE Shooting

Source: The New Republic · Bias: Left

Summary

House Speaker Mike Johnson is notorious for professing ignorance when asked potentially difficult questions about the news of the day. He fell back on this strategy in a Tuesday morning press conference, this time in response to the fatal ICE shooting in Biddeford, Maine, the day prior.On Monday, Joan Sebastian Guerrero, a 26-year-old father, was killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, marking the eleventh fatal ICE shooting of Donald Trump’s current term. Sebastian Guerrero was reportedly authorized to work in the U.S. and had not been the target of an immigration operation.The agents involved in the high-profile incident were reportedly not wearing body cameras, which, as Benjamin Weiss of Courthouse News pointed out to Johnson, cuts against assurances that Department of Homeland Security officials have made to Congress about expanding agents’ use of body cameras.“Does there need to be accountability on DHS from Congress here?” Weiss asked.“Uh,” Johnson replied, “I don’t know anything about this event, OK? I was a little busy yesterday, so I’m going to reserve judgment. I know that there was a tragic shooting, and I’m not going to comment because I don’t know.” (Notably, Weiss had prefaced his question with relevant facts, but anyway … )Preemptively defending himself against accusations of, yet again, turning a blind eye to an inconvenient news item, Johnson told reporters, “You guys can mock me for not knowing that. I worked about 22 hours the last few days, and I did not get the briefing on that. I will this morning.”Q: The ICE agents who killed a person in Maine yesterday were reportedly not using body cameras. That's despite DHS officials coming to Congress and repeatedly saying they want to expand body cam usage. Does there need to be accountability?MIKE JOHNSON: Uh, I don't know… pic.twitter.com/pGL2340Sru— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 14, 2026

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Mike Johnson Gets Passive Aggressive About Fatal ICE Shooting
The New Republic

Mike Johnson Gets Passive Aggressive About Fatal ICE Shooting

Left

House Speaker Mike Johnson is notorious for professing ignorance when asked potentially difficult questions about the news of the day. He fell back on this strategy in a Tuesday morning press conference, this time in response to the fatal ICE shooting in Biddeford, Maine, the day prior.On Monday, Joan Sebastian Guerrero, a 26-year-old father, was killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, marking the eleventh fatal ICE shooting of Donald Trump’s current term. Sebastian Guerrero was reportedly authorized to work in the U.S. and had not been the target of an immigration operation.The agents involved in the high-profile incident were reportedly not wearing body cameras, which, as Benjamin Weiss of Courthouse News pointed out to Johnson, cuts against assurances that Department of Homeland Security officials have made to Congress about expanding agents’ use of body cameras.“Does there need to be accountability on DHS from Congress here?” Weiss asked.“Uh,” Johnson replied, “I don’t know anything about this event, OK? I was a little busy yesterday, so I’m going to reserve judgment. I know that there was a tragic shooting, and I’m not going to comment because I don’t know.” (Notably, Weiss had prefaced his question with relevant facts, but anyway … )Preemptively defending himself against accusations of, yet again, turning a blind eye to an inconvenient news item, Johnson told reporters, “You guys can mock me for not knowing that. I worked about 22 hours the last few days, and I did not get the briefing on that. I will this morning.”Q: The ICE agents who killed a person in Maine yesterday were reportedly not using body cameras. That's despite DHS officials coming to Congress and repeatedly saying they want to expand body cam usage. Does there need to be accountability?MIKE JOHNSON: Uh, I don't know… pic.twitter.com/pGL2340Sru— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 14, 2026

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