House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) spending bill flop has people asking: How much longer will he be the person to hold the gavel?
Johnson’s tenure as Speaker of the House could be in jeopardy over his handling of the spending bill debacle. The first continuing resolution, introduced on Tuesday, met with fierce resistance from Republican politicians and media figures, including President-elect Donald Trump and X owner Elon Musk.
When the second attempt at a spending bill collapsed on Thursday evening, it became clear that navigating this circus won’t be easy for Johnson. The speaker’s initial compromises with House Democrats did not go over well among conservative Republican lawmakers.
Now, Johnson appears to be in a fight for his position as he faces opposition from within his party and decreasing support from Trump, who responded “We’ll see,” when asked about his confidence in Johnson as speaker.
"House Republicans, who have spent the weeks since the election talking about how they are going to remake the government...were suddenly confronted with a bipartisan big-ticket measure that looked a lot like business as usual."
A New York Times report noted that Johnson “spent months doing everything he could to hang on to his job come January, most notably a concerted charm offensive to keep President-elect Donald J. Trump placated and in his corner.”
The Times added: “It took just a few hours on Wednesday for it to all go bad.”
The president-elect asked Johnson to abandon the deal he made with Democrats earlier in the week and raise the federal debt ceiling before Trump is inaugurated.
Meanwhile, there has been a high level of frustration and infighting among Republicans, according to Axios. Yet, they seem to agree on one thing: Their current displeasure with Johnson’s leadership. "House Republican anger flew in all directions on Thursday as House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) bill to fund the government failed on the House floor,” the news outlet reported, referring to the collapse of the second government funding bill.
However, some Republicans are still in Johnson’s corner. A GOP lawmaker speaking on condition of anonymity told Axios that Elon Musk “lied about the bill” and that “the speaker was negotiating in good faith to get the best deal he can.”
Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) has been a vocal opponent of the measure, especially Trump’s demand that the debt ceiling be raised or eliminated for two years without significant cuts to spending. His opposition prompted the president-elect to call on Republicans to primary Roy in the next midterm elections.
Johnson’s failure to hammer out a deal that pleases Republicans while also placating Democrats could have long-term implications for his tenure as speaker. This is especially true if he loses Trump’s support, which holds a tremendous level of currency on the right.
“Johnson appeared to be back on Trump’s good side after totally deferring to the incoming president’s demands on government spending — but his position is far from stable,” Politico reported.
A Trump adviser told Politico that “If somebody challenges Johnson, you’re not going to get any pushback,” suggesting that the president-elect would not back him up if there are challenges to his position.
Nevertheless, Johnson is still working to keep himself in Trump’s good graces while navigating this kerfuffle. What remains to be seen is whether it will pay off.
Johnson is in a seemingly impossible situation. With Republicans having only a slim majority in the House, he must get a level of support from Democrats to avoid a government shutdown. However, giving concessions to left-leaning lawmakers is sure to arouse anger for conservative Republicans, some of whom have decried this whole process as upholding the status quo and further expanding the government, an issue Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) has brought up on several occasions.
There is also the challenge of keeping Trump and Musk happy, which is no easy feat when balanced with other the concerns with which Johnson must contend. Needless to say, keeping his hold on the gavel might require a miracle at this point.
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