In a lengthy article about how mega-donors such as the Kochs have transformed the American political landscape, reporter Kenneth Vogel describes overhearing Johnson, who he said is referred to as the Kochs' “model legislator,” speaking to donors in a poolside cabana at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort in Indian Wells, Calif. Vogel describes the 2013 gathering as "the latest in a running series of secretive political gatherings" hosted by Charles and David Koch.

“It was just me, the Kochs’ model senator and the two wealthy backers he was talking to, identified by their name tags as Ned Diefenthal and Rob Ryan. Diefenthal, it turns out, is a Louisiana metal titan, and he was complaining to Johnson about the incompetence of the Republican National Committee. Johnson did not reject Diefenthal’s complaint, and he implied that the Kochs might be a viable alternative to RNC Chairman Reince Priebus — at least for the issue in question. ‘That’s what they’re trying to do here and that’s what Reince is trying to do,’ Johnson said. But Diefenthal, whose family over the years had donated more than $280,000 to the RNC, was riled up. Priebus ‘keeps sending me letters asking for money. I’m not giving him any money. He doesn’t know what to do with it,’ said Diefenthal, suggesting that he considered the Koch political network a better investment.”