The US House speaker, Mike Johnson, has developed a go-to response when asked about something controversial Donald Trump or members of his administration said or did.

It’s some version of “I don’t know anything about that.”

When pressed about the latest scandal from the Trump administration, Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, frequently says he is not aware of that news – including last week to reports about a US military strike on an alleged drug boat that has roiled Washington politics.

In comparison with previous speakers, who oversaw House proceedings and worked to hold the executive branch accountable, Johnson’s approach is both extraordinary and an abdication of that position’s traditional responsibility, according to experts on the US Congress.

“It’s pretty unusual for a speaker to plead ignorance about what the commander in chief is doing, especially as often as Speaker Johnson,” said Matthew Green, a politics professor at the Catholic University of America who wrote a book about the former House speaker Newt Gingrich. “The president is a pretty high-profile figure in Washington politics, and this president in particular is a master of getting attention.”

While politicians often avoid answering questions, Johnson’s habit of doing so is particularly noteworthy because of the prominent place the speaker occupies in government, according to the experts on the legislature.

“Very few officers are mentioned specifically in the constitution; the speakership is one of them,” Green said. “I would say it’s absolutely the responsibility of the speaker to keep up with what the president is saying and doing.”

But there are at least 14 examples of Johnson saying he had not heard about or had time to review information on a development from the Trump administration that grabbed front-page headlines and went viral on social media. These include questions about people pardoned by Trump, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, and the president’s financial dealings and handling of the military.

In May, Trump hosted a private dinner for people who won entry by being the top investors in his memecoin, which raised questions about whether he was using his public office for personal financial gain.

When the CNN host Jake Tapper told Johnson, “I really have a difficult time imagining that if this was a Democratic president doing the exact same thing, you wouldn’t be outraged,” Johnson claimed ignorance.

“I don’t know anything about the dinner. I was a little busy this past week, as you know, getting the reconciliation package over the line, so I’m not going to comment on something I haven’t even heard about,” Johnson said.

Then in October, Trump pardoned a crypto executive, Changpeng Zhao, who was convicted of money laundering, which again drew scrutiny, not just because of the Trump family’s investment in the industry but also because the president said on 60 Minutes: “I don’t know who he is.”

A reporter asked Johnson if, given his criticism of President Joe Biden for allegedly using an autopen to sign pardons and argument that he did not know what he was doing, he was also concerned about Trump saying he did not know Zhao.

“I don’t know anything about that. I didn’t see the interview,” said Johnson, who also claimed that he didn’t “know anything” about a January 6 rioter pardoned by Trump who then was arrested for threatening to kill the House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries.

“It strains credulity that the speaker of the House would be unaware of what a president is doing when it’s common knowledge among reporters and on social media,” Green said.

Johnson also often defends the president or says it’s not his job to deal with the issue.

When asked about Trump accepting Qatar’s gift of a $400m Boeing jet, Johnson deployed all three tactics: “I don’t know. It’s OK. It’s not my job,” Green said.

“I’m not following all the twists and turns of the Qatar jet. I have certainly heard about it,” Johnson told reporters. “My understanding is it’s not a personal gift to the president. It’s a gift to the United States, and other nations give us gifts all the time, but I’m going to leave it to the administration. They know much more about the details of that, OK? I’m just – it’s not my lane.”

Green said that, logically, “you can’t have all three”.

“If you don’t know about it, then how can you defend it? And if it’s not your responsibility, then why are you talking about it? And it is his responsibility, for the record. It’s the job of Congress to ensure that laws are followed,” Green said.

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Even if Johnson, who has many responsibilities, is not glued to his phone, he has a large staff to keep him informed, said SoRelle Gaynor, University of Virginia assistant professor of politics and public policy.

Plus, whereas a freshman lawmaker might have an inexperienced team, people in leadership positions “have the longest-serving staff, the most expert staff”, Gaynor said.

“You know damn well there is somebody briefing him on all this stuff,” said Larry Evans, a professor of government at the College of William & Mary who studies American political institutions. “It is not that he is ignorant about it – any more, frankly, than when President Trump claims, ‘Oh, I didn’t know about that.’”

In September, at a gathering of generals and admirals, Trump bashed former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden and said the military would prioritize combating the “enemy from within” and that major American cities would be “training grounds”.

The speech became a top story, but when a Democratic lawmaker, concerned that Trump was “unhinged”, confronted Johnson, the speaker said: “I didn’t see it.”

Last week, a reporter asked Johnson about one of the bigger scandals since Trump again took office. The Washington Post reported that a military commander, following a directive from the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, ordered a follow-up strike to kill survivors of a US attack on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, which, according to some lawmakers, potentially constituted a war crime.

In this rare case, even some Republican lawmakers raised concerns about the incident. Leaders of the House and Senate armed services committees said they would conduct “rigorous oversight” to determine what happened.

Meanwhile, Johnson’s response was: “I’m not going to prejudge any of that. I was pretty busy yesterday. I didn’t follow a lot of the news.”

While the speaker would not have an obligation to comment on Trump’s latest social media post, given Congress’s authority to declare war, “it’s hard to see how saying, ‘I don’t have an opinion on that’ or ‘I’m staying out of it’,” in regards to the strike, “is responsible governing”, Gaynor said.

But she understands why Johnson avoids answering questions.

The speaker not only leads that chamber but also the majority party, who holds only seven more seats than the Democrats do, so he must work to keep his conference together, Evans said.

“I think he sees his role as party leader and ally to the White House as important,” Gaynor said. Still, “his loyalty to Trump is somewhat unprecedented”.

And, given the frenetic nature of the US news cycle during Trump’s second term, repeatedly pleading ignorance also works.

“Just saying ‘I have no comment’ – and knowing that probably in 12 hours there will be something else that people are thinking about – it’s not a bad strategy,” Gaynor said.