> But in the middle of the gathering, Speaker Mike Johnson, a vocal booster of his fractious conference and one who is often publicly sunny about its electoral prospects, acknowledged a vulnerability: President Trump’s immigration crackdown has alienated voters, and his party is now in need of a reboot on the issue.
“We’ve got a little hiccup with some of the Hispanic and Latino voters for certain, because some of the immigration enforcement was viewed to be overzealous,” Mr. Johnson said in an interview onstage.
“And, you know, everybody can describe it differently. But here’s the good news: We’re in a course correction mode right now,” Mr. Johnson continued. “We’re going to have a new secretary of homeland security.”
> Mr. Johnson’s comments were a strikingly candid admission that his party was, at least for now, trying to shift focus away from hard-line immigration enforcement, a signature issue that Republicans widely credit for helping them win control of the White House and both chambers of Congress in 2024.
