Shortly before House Republicans approved their far-right domestic policy megabill, Speaker Mike Johnson delivered one last speech to talk about how impressed he was with his party’s radical and regressive legislation. At one point during the Louisiana congressman’s remarks, however, he was interrupted by some unexpected applause — from Democrats.

“The Republican Party stands for law and order, and this is the side that stands with law enforcement, the brave men and women who are on the front line,” Johnson said, reading from prepared remarks. “The idea that those who put their own lives on the line to protect us would be assaulted for doing their jobs is unconscionable.”

It was at this point that Democrats responded positively to the remarks for reasons that Republicans might not have understood.

After all, if members of Congress are going to talk about law enforcement personnel who “put their own lives on the line to protect us” and who were “assaulted for doing their jobs,” it’s probably worth acknowledging that this is an accurate description of the officers who served on Jan. 6.

Johnson might remember the insurrectionist assault. Indeed, he might recall that Congress commissioned a plaque to honor those who “put their own lives on the line” to protect him and his colleagues — though the Republican House speaker refuses to put it up, despite a statutory requirement.

Four days after Johnson’s speech, in a very different context, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declared from her podium, “This administration wants anyone who has ever committed a crime to be held accountable.”

That certainly sounded nice, but there are some rather glaring problems with the sentiment. For one thing, Donald Trump is a convicted felon who wasn’t especially interested in being held accountable.

For another, while it’d be great if the administration wanted accountability for criminals, there’s the inconvenient fact that Trump keeps pardoning criminals — including violent felons who attacked police officers on Jan. 6 — making sure they aren’t held accountable.

What’s more, it’s not just Leavitt and Johnson. Last month, U.S. Customs and Border Protection used its social media platform to issue a statement that read, “Let this be clear: Anyone who assaults or impedes a federal law enforcement officer or agent in the performance of their duties will be arrested and swiftly prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Attack a cop, and life long consequences will follow!” FBI Director Kash Patel added in a statement of his own: “Hit a cop, you’re going to jail.”

These sentiments should apply to Jan. 6, but as far as Team Trump is concerned, they don’t.

It’s against this backdrop that Trump’s Justice Department last week reportedly hired a pardoned Jan. 6 rioter who was caught on video encouraging insurrectionists to “kill” police officers.

I guess the House speaker and the White House press secretary didn’t hear about this.