‘Would Love To Have Her’: President Trump, Speaker Johnson Invite Haley Stevens To Join GOP

Johnson said he has spoken with Stevens about her endorsement of Mike Rogers and fears for her safety

DUBUQUE, Iowa—President Donald Trump and House speaker Mike Johnson said they would welcome Democratic congresswoman Haley Stevens to the Republican Party following her stunning endorsement of Republican Mike Rogers for Senate in Michigan two days before voters head to the polls in what has become the nation’s most contentious race.

Speaking with reporters ahead of a Sunday rally in Dubuque, Iowa, Trump said the GOP “would love to have” Stevens inside the GOP tent. He was responding to a question from the Washington Free Beacon about the Democrat’s endorsement of Rogers.

Johnson said he had spoken to the Democratic congresswoman and that she “did a heroic and important thing for the country.”

“I sent her a note, spoke to Haley, and told her how great she was, how much we appreciate that she’s standing for the truth,” Johnson added. “She is a good person. 
She’s always been very thoughtful. She loves her state and has served it as best she could. And she’s speaking the truth.”

Johnson said he told Stevens to “stay safe.” In response to a follow-up question about whether he feared for Stevens’s safety, the speaker added that “we are in a heightened threat environment.”

“There are dangerous people out there,” Johnson said. “Of course—she and her fiancé have been getting a lot of threats.”

Trump interjected: “They’re dangerous—they’re jihadists,” he said. “He’s a Muslim Brotherhood guy,” Trump added, referring to Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed.

“Yeah, I’d say she’s in danger,” Trump said.

The comments from Trump and Johnson cap what has been a whirlwind 48 hours in Michigan.

On Friday, Stevens raised eyebrows when she released a statement saying she would attend a Sunday “unity” event with El-Sayed at a black church in Detroit, but demanded El-Sayed condemn an antisemitic ad produced on his behalf blaming Jews for higher food prices.

Instead of issuing such a statement, El-Sayed blasted both Stevens and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, then disinvited Stevens from the event. “Our campaign has always been focused on addressing the most critical challenges Michiganders are facing. That focus is why our people-powered campaign defeated a historic $70M in outside spending from big corporations and AIPAC on behalf of Congresswoman Stevens,” he said.

Stevens initially indicated she would still back El-Sayed. Then she was spotted with Rogers at a different Detroit church on Sunday morning and released a video formally endorsing him during the service.

“This was a personal and private decision,” Stevens told reporters outside of the church. “I woke up this morning and I decided to go to church. And I’m here with the person who I am voting for for United States Senate, and that is Mike Rogers.”

Stevens has now found herself isolated among Democrats. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, who recruited Stevens to run for Senate, called her endorsement of Rogers a “despicable betrayal.” Michigan Democratic Party chairman Curtis Hertel said Stevens “is not a current member of the Michigan Democratic Party, nor will she be in the future.” And Stevens’s chief of staff and communications director resigned.