WASHINGTON — President Trump revealed Monday that Rep. Neal Dunn’s (R-Fla.) life was in danger due to a heart ailment, but that he made a miraculous recovery after the president deployed doctors to save both his life and the already slim House Republican majority.

“He would be dead by June,” Trump said during an event in the White House East Room.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) seemed stunned by the president’s candor, remarking: “OK, that wasn’t public, but, yeah, OK, it was grim.”

President Trump revealed during a White House press conference ahead of a Kennedy Center board meeting that Rep. Neal Dunn (Fla.) nearly died from a heart ailment. AFP via Getty Images

The story emerged from a Trump-Kennedy Center meeting as the president praised Johnson for his prowess in navigating the tiny Republican majority, which currently stands at four seats.

“Death is very bad when you’re the speaker, and you have a majority of two or three. But we had it, and then we had another death,” Trump said.

“We had one man who was very ill. It looked like he wasn’t going to make it. I don’t know. I don’t I won’t mention his name.”

Johnson then identified the man as Dunn, 73, who represents part of the Florida panhandle, including Tallahassee.

Dunn seen arriving for a House Republican Conference caucus meeting in the Capitol building on March 4, 2026. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

“Congressman Neil Dunn of Florida had had some real health challenges, and it was very serious,” the House speaker said. “And I mentioned it to the president, and I said, ‘Congressman Dunn is a real champion and a patriot, because he’s still coming to work, and if others got this diagnosis, they would be apt to go home and retire.’”

“What was the diagnosis?” Trump asked.

Johnson replied, “I think it was a terminal diagnosis,” leading Trump to chime in with the “dead by June” comment. 

After the speaker chided the president about the non-public information, Johnson said: “Long story short, the president called him to encourage him and thank him. And the president mentioned in the course of conversation, ‘You know, I ought to get my doctors involved.’ And they did, and within a number of hours, they took him to Walter Reed, emergency surgery.”

“[Johnson] called to say that he was terminal, really bad heart, there’s nothing they can do,” Trump continued the story. “I said, ‘That’s bad.’ Number one, it was bad because I liked him. Number two, it was bad because I needed his vote.

“And then I realized I have doctors in the White House, and White House doctors are incredible and they’ve helped me with other people. They’re helping me with people right now, people that are very sick —  like, they’re miracle workers,” he said.

“And I said, ‘I have to call them.’ And I called the two doctors, they’re both great, and they immediately went over to see the congressman, and he was on the operating table like two hours later, and it was a long operation.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson noted that Dunn’s health issue wasn’t public information before Trump’s comments. REUTERS

“It was a long operation. They gave him more stents and more everything,” Trump said, adding that Dunn has had “a new lease on life. He has more energy than a man half his age.”

Trump concluded the tale by adding that “because I don’t want to have a terrible story about this, I did it for him first and for the vote second, but it was a close second, actually.”

A spokeswoman for Dunn, himself a medical doctor, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The lawmaker announced in January of this year that he would retire rather than seek a sixth term in the House of Representatives.