House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) responded on Sunday to a report by The Daily Beast that highlighted his apparent lack of a bank account on his financial disclosure.
The response, however, did not actually answer whether he had one.
Fox News Sunday moderator Shannon Bream pressed Johnson on whether he had a bank account, citing a Vanity Fair write-up of The Daily Beast’s report and noting that “there’s been so much made about it.”
“Can you clear that up for us?” Bream asked.
Johnson did not.
“Look, I’m a man of modest means,” Johnson said. “I was a lawyer, but I did constitutional law, and most of my career has been in the nonprofit sector. We have four kids, five now, that are very active. And I have kids in graduate school, law school, undergraduate. We have a lot of expenses, but I can relate to everybody else. My father was a firefighter, right? I didn’t grow up with great means. But I think that helps us to be a better leader because we can relate to every hard-working American family. That’s who we are. And I think it governs and helps govern my decisions and how I lead.”
Plus, even if he really doesn’t have an account, then that’s worrisome as well because if you’re struggling to pay for your kids tuition, that raises concerns about being more susceptible to bribery. That’s why one of the things they look into when you get clearance is are you struggling financially.