Trump and Johnson Hail Democrat Defector Haley Stevens as She Rejects Radical Senate Pick
President Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson are openly welcoming Rep. Haley Stevens after the Michigan Democrat crossed party lines to endorse Republican Mike Rogers for the U.S. Senate. In a brief exchange caught on camera, Trump made clear he sees her as a natural fit on the right side of the aisle.
“I’d love to have her,” Trump said. “Mike, did you talk to her?”
Johnson confirmed he had reached out personally. “I sent her a note, spoke to Haley, and told her how courageous she was, how much we appreciate that. She’s standing for truth,” he said. “Haley’s a good person, she’s always been very thoughtful, she loves her state, she’s served it as best she could, and she’s speaking the truth.”
Johnson framed the Michigan Senate race as a clear choice. “This is a contrast election between common sense and crazy, and there is no crazier choice on the ballot than El-Sayed, what he stands for. And he needs to answer for that, and I’m sad to tell you the media has not done a great job in making him answer for that. But I believe the people of Michigan are going to make the right choice, and I think Haley did a heroic and important thing for the country.”
Stevens lost the Democratic primary to Abdul El-Sayed and then backed Rogers, citing disagreements over her former party’s nominee and his campaign. The move has drawn praise from Republicans and fury from Democrats, with staffers reportedly quitting her office in protest.
Johnson also addressed the blowback. When asked if he had heard back from Stevens, he said he had spoken with her and “encouraged her to stay safe, and keep speaking the truth, and I think she’s doing that very well. She ought to be commended for that.”
Pressed on whether she is safe, Johnson did not downplay the risks. “Look, I don’t know. We’re in a heightened threat environment, everybody in politics is, and there are dangerous people out there. Of course she and her fiancé have been getting a lot of threats.
Stevens has faced harassment before, including reports that her mother described her being targeted with antisemitic insults. The endorsement has only intensified the pressure. Trump and Johnson are treating her decision as a rare example of a Democrat putting principle ahead of party loyalty in a race defined by sharp contrasts.