Speaker Johnson's team briefed conservative influencers on his election bill before Trump meeting

High-profile rightwing influencers were briefed on House Speaker Mike Johnson’s voter registration bill well in advance of its announcement in what appears to be a coordinated social media campaign meant to drum up support for the legislation, which is dead on arrival on the Senate.

Conservative influencers posted dozens of times before Johnson, R-La., publicly announced the bill alongside former President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, calling on Congress to pass the bill, which has not yet been filed, and offering policy details that are still not available to the public.

The legislation targets voting by non-citizens, which is already illegal and very rare. Johnson's appearance at Mar-a-Lago came at a time when his speakership is in a precarious position, with attacks from far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who has a significant social media following. Getting some public support and praise from Trump could give Johnson a bit of protection with the Republican base, as could drumming up support from conservative social media influencers.

At 3:50 p.m. ET on Friday, Ryan Fournier, the chair of Students for Trump who boasts a million followers on X, appears to have been the first to post the name of the bill and details of the legislation.

Johnson’s press conference was scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. ET on Friday but began just after 5 p.m. Neither the speaker nor his office would provide specifics on the legislation in advance of Friday's event when asked by NBC News, but his office confirmed Monday that background information about the bill had been sent in advance to conservative-leaning influencers.

In the hours leading up to Johnson and Trump's press conference, social media posters including Libs of