Mike Johnson Says Speakership Has Him 'In Survival Mode' as Duties Become Daily 'Triage'

House Speaker Mike Johnson told The Katie Miller Podcast that his days as speaker amount to a nonstop "triage," with emergencies and interruptions upending any routine. He described tightened security— including a three-Suburban motorcade— and said his son is sometimes dropped off a block from school to avoid attention. Johnson said "literally 100,000 people" have his cell number, causing him to miss hundreds of calls and texts, and that he hasn't taken a vacation day in two years. He compared much of his work to acting as a "mental health counselor," using parenting skills to manage colleagues and tight votes.

04:20 PM, 11/28/2025Politics

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) opened up in a wide-ranging interview on The Katie Miller Podcast, speaking candidly alongside his wife, Kelly, about the demands and stresses of leading the House with a narrow Republican majority.

Johnson described his work as a constant "triage" of calls and emergencies. "We try to have order and schedule, but it gets blown up because there’s an emergency every 10 minutes," he told host Katie Miller, the wife of White House adviser Stephen Miller. "And so we’re kind of in survival mode right now."

He detailed the security and lifestyle changes that have come with the job: "It’s seldom I get to go out. We have a three Suburban motorcade right now, with a tactical unit and a police car in front." He said his son is sometimes embarrassed by the visible detail and is occasionally dropped off a block from school to avoid attention.

A major challenge, Johnson said, is simply keeping up with communications. "I think literally 100,000 people have my cell phone number," he said. "I miss literally hundreds of calls and text messages in a day. The peril is, I don’t know how important it was, what I missed."

Johnson added that he has taken almost no time away since becoming speaker. "I haven’t had a vacation day in two years. I haven’t been off in two years, literally," he said, recalling that last Christmas he spent taking calls from members. "It takes everything out of whomever serves in the position — and by extension, their family."

He acknowledged some perks of the office but noted he has also faced criticism from colleagues, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and other Republican members.

Drawing on his experience as a father of four, Johnson compared the speakership to a counseling role. "We have this joke that I’m not really a Speaker of the House," he said. "I’m really like a mental health counselor... when the pressure gets turned up really high and then the stakes are so high and the votes are so tight, I just try to sit down and listen to everybody and figure out what their primary need is and how we can meet that."

"Sometimes those are long counseling sessions, but we get that done... it’s the same skills you use as a parent," he added.

The interview offers a window into how the responsibilities of the speakership affect both the officeholder and their family, underscoring the intense pace and constant demands of the role.