Mike Johnson hires ex-Trump official accused of being 'one of the most egregious liars'

Newly minted Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) has tapped a new hire to help run his communications division, Politico reported on Tuesday.

"Speaker Mike Johnson has tapped veteran Republican operative Raj Shah to build and oversee his communications operation, according to a person familiar with the move. Shah is expected to serve as Johnson’s deputy chief of staff for communications, where he will, among other things, help run messaging for House Republicans," reported Alex Isenstadt. "Shah previously spent four years as senior vice president for public affairs at Fox Corporation. Before that, he served as a top communications official in the Trump White House, and was research director at the Republican National Committee during the 2016 campaign."

When Shah worked communications at the White House, he was known for a number of controversies, including his claim that adult film star Stormy Daniels was lying about the alleged hush payment to her from Trump and that "The president is the only one who has been consistent." Trump is now under indictment for that financial arrangement.

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More recently, when Shah was working at Fox News, he was caught at the center of the fury surrounding the network's $800 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems for defamation about their voting equipment, having allegedly helped push the false claims, and left the company shortly after.

"One of Donald Trump's first press hires in the White House and one of the most egregious liars who worked for him," House staffer Aaron Fritschner posted on X. "They don't call this guy 'MAGA Mike' Johnson for nothing folks."

Johnson, who was elected speaker after weeks of chaos that saw extensive GOP infighting and several failed candidates, is a far-right supporter of Trump who had a key role in pushing lies about the 2020 election from Congress.