Episode description

On Friday, Republicans once again selected Rep. Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) to be speaker of the House — but not before there was a little bit of drama.

Earlier this week, President-elect Donald Trump took to social media to link the New Year’s Day vehicular attack in New Orleans to weak border policies, even though the attacker was an American citizen born in Texas. In the hours following, the message became a popular Republican talking point. 

Reporters Marianna Sotomayor, Marianne LeVine and Leigh Ann Caldwell join host Aaron Blake to discuss how Johnson eked out a victory in the speaker fight, and why the New Orleans attack became so quickly politicized.

Today’s show was produced by Laura Benshoff. It was edited by Reena Flores and Rachen Van Dongen and mixed by Sam Bair. 

Subscribe to Aaron’s newsletter, The Campaign Moment, here. 

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.