Welcome to Washington: Mike Johnson Hangs On By a Thread

Before Speaker Mike Johnson was nominated by the House Republican conference, I was one of the last reporters to talk to the Lousiana Congressman. At the time, the majority whip, Tom Emmer, was facing an internal rebellion and would soon withdraw from the race. Mr. Johnson — the runner-up to Mr. Emmer on the previous ballot — was all smiles as he headed into a meeting where he seemingly knew that he would be his colleagues’ next choice. Welcome to Washington, where Mr. Johnson’s smiles are rarer today than they were back in 2023. Even just weeks ago during the government shutdown, he seemed to be in a better mood than he is now. The small uprisings, petty fights, and policy disagreements which were mostly put on hold as he worked to pass President Trump’s agenda this year now seem to dominate the news. Dozens of Republicans want Biden-era enhanced health insurance tax credits extended. A sizable chunk of his conference is breaking with him and other GOP leaders on the issue of banning stock trading by members. His relationship with House Democrats has only grown worse since the shutdown that began just over two months ago. The worst criticism he heard this year, however, is likely that which came from Congresswoman Elise Stefanik — a member of his own leadership team. “He certainly wouldn’t have the votes to be speaker if there was a roll-call vote tomorrow,” she told the Wall Street Journal this past week. “I believe that the majority of Republicans would vote for new leadership. It’s that widespread.” Mr. Johnson seems to be well-aware of a general sense of discontent among his colleagues for how little the House has done this past year. “We have this joke that I’m not really a speaker of the House,” the speaker told conservative podcaster Katie Miller in an interview in November, saying that he was in “triage” every single day. “We’re kind of in survival mode right now,” Mr. Johnson said, seated next to his wife, Kelly. “We order in food because we just don’t have the time or luxury of cooking.”If Mr. Johnson thinks he has headaches now, things are set to get only worse in the coming days. Just this week, he will have to pass the annual national defense authorization bill, consider colleagues’ demands on health care subsidy extensions, and brace for the receipt from the Department of Justice the Epstein files that are due to be handed over to Congress before the end of next week. More difficult is what awaits him at the beginning of next year. Annually, Congress must pass 12 spending bills to keep the government open ahead of the September 30 fiscal year funding deadline. As part of the deal to end this most recent shutdown, Mr. Johnson and other Republican leaders were able to pass just three of those spending bills for the remainder of the fiscal year until the end of September 2026. The other nine stopgap funding bills — which are far more contentious and may have to go through the lengthy conference committee process — are due to expire on January 30. Between now and the end of next month, Mr. Johnson has only 20 legislative days to get all of that work done. It’s the kind of task even Speaker Sam Rayburn or President Lyndon Johnson would likely find daunting. Beyond work in the coming weeks, Mr. Trump may throw another log on Mr. Johnson’s fire — a second reconciliation bill to deal with health care, taxes, and tariff rebate checks which the president has been pushing for months. Pulling off such a legislative feat in an election year with only a three-seat majority may prove impossible, though no less stressful if forced to go through the process only to end up with nothing. Mr. Trump himself probably thinks he can supplant Mr. Johnson’s role altogether, given how he has handled things this first year. The president had to force conservatives to vote for Mr. Johnson to be speaker again at the start of this Congress in January, and had to hold several lawmakers’ hands during the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Mr. Trump went so far as to complain earlier this year about how he seemingly has to manage Mr. Johnson’s conference for him.“I call up, ‘Hello, Jim, how are you?’ ‘Sir, you have my vote.’ Boom,” Mr. Trump said of his relationship with some of Mr. Johnson’s troublemakers. Democrats were once a safe haven for the son of a fireman from northwestern Louisiana. Last year, the minority party voted to kill a measure from conservative hardliners which would have forced Mr. Johnson from his position. Now seemingly weaker than ever and with even more distrust of him on the other side of the aisle, there may be no place for the speaker to find comfort as he confronts major challenges.

Welcome to Washington: Mike Johnson Hangs On By a Thread

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