John,

Reporting from the Daily Beast revealed that new House Speaker Mike Johnson has never listed a bank account on his financial disclosure forms.

And on top of that, on his most recent disclosure he didn’t even list a *single* asset.

For his seven years in Congress, Johnson has never reported a checking, savings or retirement account in his name, nor in the name of his wife or any of his children. As CREW Communications Director Jordan Libowitz said on NPR’s Marketplace program yesterday, under ethics rules, you only have to report your bank accounts if they bear interest (like a savings account and many checking accounts) and if you have a total of $5,000 across all your accounts—so it could be that Johnson is essentially living paycheck to paycheck.

His spokesperson says Johnson hasn’t reported assets because he does not have an interest bearing account. But that’s a pretty strange choice for a guy who’s made millions over the last decade, especially during an inflationary economic period.

Johnson’s debts raise further questions about his financial health: He owes hundreds of thousands of dollars between a mortgage, personal loan and home equity line of credit.

John, if the most powerful member of Congress is having serious financial issues that could leave them vulnerable to influence buying.

In Speaker Johnson’s case, we have more questions than answers, but we’ll keep looking into his finances and those of other politicians across the country.

Thanks,

Team CREW