As the country entered week three of the federal government shutdown, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a memo announcing plans to continue to pay military troops and federal law enforcement.
At a press conference (see below) when a reporter asked House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) if law enforcement should include U.S. Capitol Police, Johnson said: “We’ve always stood with Capitol Police and law enforcement, and we’ve shown that in word and deed.”
[The question’s phrasing — “Should law enforcement include Capitol police who protect you, your family, Mr. Scalise, the Whip, as well as the Capitol Building in general?”– both made the issue personal (“your family”) and evoked January 6, 2021, when protecting the “Capitol Building in general” became a dangerous challenge.]
Attorney Mark S. Zaid responded to Johnson: “I represent @CapitolPolice who were injured on #January6th and employees who tried to prevent the insurrection. I will continue to stand by my law enforcement clients. @SpeakerJohnson, you, sir, are a liar.”
I represent @CapitolPolice who were injured on #January6th and employees who tried to prevent the insurrection. I will continue to stand by my law enforcement clients. @SpeakerJohnson, you, sir, are a liar. https://t.co/T5geuvCZAf
— Mark S. Zaid (@MarkSZaidEsq) October 15, 2025
Note: In January, President Trump pardoned approximately 1,500 defendants convicted of crimes at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. In February, Trump revoked the security clearance of Zaid and Lisa Monaco, the former deputy attorney general who coordinated the Justice Department’s investigation into Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, along with the clearances of other outspoken critics of Trump.
Zaid also responded this week to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth‘s new Pentagon media access policies — which have been rejected by all major news outlets including ABC News and Fox News, The New York Times and Newsmax — by offering his services to national security journalists who gave up their Pentagon credentials as a result.
Zaid wrote: “If any Pentagon reporters need help in lawfully securing DoD info for stories or fighting back against these efforts to stifle the First Amendment, we’re here to help.”
If any Pentagon reporters need help in lawfully securing DoD info for stories or fighting back against these efforts to stifle the First Amendment, we’re here to help. https://t.co/0uREvZ6Eb7
— Mark S. Zaid (@MarkSZaidEsq) October 15, 2025