Johnson spars with ABC over Santos commutation and Pentagon press policy

Published October 19, 2025 7:15pm ET



House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) feuded with ABC News’s Jon Karl on Sunday over President Donald Trump‘s recent commutation of former GOP Rep. George Santos‘s prison sentence as well as the Pentagon’s new press policies. 

Regarding Santos, Johnson said “redemption” is a “personal belief” of his, and expressed hope that Santos “makes the most of his second chance.” Karl noted how Santos is one of many former congressmen to either be pardoned or receive clemency, prompting Johnson to point to former President Joe Biden’s mass pardons and commutations.

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