US President Donald Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson publically shared private health information of Nael Dunn.
According to The Hill, Trump revealed on Monday, March 16, that Florida representative received a terminal diagnosis for a heart problem, prompting concerns about the House GOP’s super-slim majority and leading the US president to connect him to care at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
Trump talked about Dunn’s health during a press conference at the Kennedy Center while introducing Johnson, noting the Speaker’s tough job in managing such a small majority.
Republicans can currently afford to lose no more than one member on any party-line vote, assuming all members are present and voting.
Trump said of the GOP’s margin, “We had it up to four and then we had a death. And the death is very bad when you have a majority of two or three. We had one man who was very ill, it looked like he wasn’t going to make it. I don’t know. I won’t mention his name.”
He then turned to Johnson and asked, “Do you want to mention it? He’ll be proud. Go ahead, tell them the story.”
Johnson said that Dunn had some “real health challenges,” with a “pretty grim diagnosis.” After poking from Trump he added, “I think it was a terminal diagnosis.”
The Republican president then took the lead and claimed, “He would dead by June.”
“OK, that’s wasn’t public,” Johnson objected, as Trump added, “It was a heart problem.”
Johnson said that the diagnosis prompted Dunn, who had already announced he would not seek reelection, to consider retiring back to Florida.
A midsession resignation, though, would further strain the slim House GOP majority, posing difficulties for Republicans in Washington.
Johnson continued that Trump suggested getting his own White House doctors involved to help Dunn, and that “within hours” the Congressman was in emergency surgery at Walter Reed.
Trump later said that “they gave him more stents, and more everything that you could have.”
Johnson sharing the latest condition of Dunn said that he got a new life and now acts like he is 30 years younger.
