STEFANIK secures NDAA provision after clash with JOHNSON

Thursday, December 4, 2025 -Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik says she has succeeded in getting a provision reinstated in the NDAA that requires the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to notify Congress when it opens counterintelligence investigations into presidential or federal candidates seeking office. 

Stefanik announced that after a “productive discussion” with President Donald Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson, the provision will remain included when the Intelligence Authorization Act and NDAA are combined.

The move comes after Stefanik publicly threatened to oppose the NDAA — a bill she has never rejected before — if the provision was left out. She accused Johnson of “torpedoing” the Republican agenda by siding with Democrats who opposed the measure, calling his alleged maneuver “the illegal weaponization of the deep state.”

Johnson denied blocking the provision, saying the decision fell to committee chairs and ranking members in both chambers. He claimed he was unaware the provision had been removed and offered to help restore it once he understood the problem. 

The resolution — brought about after high‑stakes internal pressure and intervention — avoids a major showdown in the House and represents a rare rebuke of party leadership by a senior Republican member.