Mike Johnson’s Proposed Ukraine Deal Is as Cynical as It Is Stupid
For a far-right Republican from Louisiana—a major oil and gas producing state that’s home to three of the country’s seven operational LNG export terminals—it’s not exactly surprising that Johnson would be looking for some excuse to boost gas; the highest-profile project held up by the deal, Calcasieu Pass 2, is in his home state too. Days before the original Calcasieu Pass facility began operations, in January 2022, it leaked 180,000 pounds of unpermitted methane gas into the air.
If there’s one thing that a fractured Republican caucus has in common, it’s that virtually all of them take money from fossil fuel interests. Of the House’s 218 Republicans, 209 have taken donations from the oil and gas industry this cycle. Johnson has gotten more cash from political action committees linked to oil and gas companies ($73,300) this cycle than from PACs for any other industry. He got $17,034 from Cheniere, a major gas company. Overall, oil and gas interests have been a reliable top donor to Johnson, having given the speaker $472,473 since the start of his congressional career.