The GOP Mutiny Begins: Why Women in the Party Turned on Speaker Johnson—Starting With Epstein with Annie Karni

How did the Epstein files vote spark an all-out revolt against Speaker Mike Johnson from the very women in his own party? On this explosive episode of the Tara Palmeri Show, New York Times Capitol Hill correspondent Annie Karni pulls back the curtain on the growing Republican fury at Mike Johnson – from Elise Stefanik calling him a habitual liar, Nancy Mace fuming over his treatment of women, and Marjorie Taylor Greene labeling him weak, to a broader meltdown over leadership, redistricting, and Trump’s shadow presidency. The two veteran reporters dig into Johnson’s old podcast comments on “waffle vs spaghetti” brains, why GOP women feel he doesn’t listen to them, the real threat of mid-term retirements, and whether anyone (Tom Emmer?) could actually replace him before the majority vanishes. Read Annie’s must-read piece that has all of Washington buzzing: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/03/us/politics/republican-women-speaker-johnson.html Who do you think lasts longer in 2026 – Mike Johnson as Speaker or the razor-thin Republican House majority? Drop your prediction below. For more of her reporting, subscribe to her weekly newsletter, "The Red Letter." https://tarapalmeri.substack.com/ https://www.tarapalmeri.com/subscribe Latest from the Red Letter: https://www.tarapalmeri.com/p/george-santos-believes-george-santos https://www.tarapalmeri.com/p/power-shifts-everywhere https://www.tarapalmeri.com/p/did-trump-just-slap-his-name-on-obamacare To support her mission of independent journalism, consider donating to her GoFundMe account: https://gofund.me/0c46f9a5 Annie Karni's profile at NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/by/annie-karni Follow Annie: https://x.com/anniekarni https://www.instagram.com/anniekarni/ Tara Palmeri is one of the most feared and fearless reporters covering power and politics. She has 15 years of experience covering national politics and foreign affairs. She was formerly a White House Correspondent for ABC News where she covered the first Trump administration. She was the chief National Correspondent for POLITICO during the Biden administration. She has been a political analyst for CNBC, CBS and CNN. She started her career as a columnist for the Washington Examiner and then went on to report for the New York Post. She was a foreign correspondent for POLITICO Europe, where she covered international affairs, including Brexit. She hosted the Ringer's political podcast "Somebody's Gotta Win" and wrote a column for Puck. Tara also hosted two acclaimed podcasts on Jeffrey Epstein, "Broken: Jeffrey Epstein" and "Power: The Maxwells." Tara currently hosts the Tara Palmeri Show. Follow Tara: https://www.instagram.com/tarapalmeri/ https://x.com/tarapalmeri https://www.tiktok.com/@tarapalmeri For inquiries, email: [e-mail] #MikeJohnson #SpeakerJohnson #EpsteinFiles #EliseStefanik #NancyMace #MTG #MarjorieTaylorGreene #GOP #HouseRepublicans #PoliticalScandal #TaraPalmeriShow #TaraPalmeri Inside the GOP Mutiny Over Mike Johnson and the Epstein Files Chapters: 00:00 Welcome to the Tara Palmeri Show 01:50 Annie Karni joins the Tara Palmeri Show 04:19 Republican anger erupts at Johnson on the record 06:04 Why the women are leading the revolt 08:12 Mike Johnson’s traditional views on gender roles 10:19 Waffle vs spaghetti brains and Thanksgiving dinner 11:54 Epstein vote pressure from Johnson and Trump 14:15 Trump as shadow Speaker 17:25 No loyalty owed – Johnson didn’t build the majority 21:00 Mid-term retirements and slim majority panic 24:39 How Mace, Boebert and MTG stood up to Trump 27:35 Some GOP women still defend Johnson 28:47 Thanks for watching the Tara Palmeri Show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices