Mike Johnson's situation as speaker of the House of Representatives is at a critical point and his party colleagues are to blame. The conservative majority's weakness and the ideological differences between the different sides of the GOP caused him to lose two important legislative battles last Wednesday, each of them caused by one of the extremes. While four moderate congressmen overturned the impeachment of Alejandro Mayorkas, 14 members of the Freedom Caucus did the same with a bill that would have provided aid to Israel.
I am honored to have been elected the 56th Speaker of the House. It is time to come together to deliver for the American people! pic.twitter.com/gQSSIfXgeR
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) October 25, 2023
Dealing with representatives as different as Ken Buck and Marjorie Taylor Greene
Johnson knew from the moment he took over the role of speaker that an arduous path awaited him. He knew he would have to try to work with people with extreme ideologies such as Ken Buck and Marjorie Taylor Greene, but he seemed to be the man for the job. His first move was to calm the waters between the different groups. The GOP of the got off to a rocky start.
In my first two weeks as Speaker, the House passed 3 standalone appropriations bills. I am committed to returning Washington to regular order, but you can’t fix a decades old broken system in a matter of weeks.
The CR we will bring to the floor next week keeps the government…
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) November 12, 2023
The agreement with the Democrats to avoid a government shutdown was his first battle
Things began to go wrong in November when Johnson reached an agreement with Democrats to avoid a government shutdown due to lack of funding. The process in the plenary session was a real challenge for the new speaker of the House, who needed the support of the Democratic representatives. The final vote was 336 votes in favor vs. 95 against. This was Johnson's first significant rift.
Washington’s spending addiction cannot be broken overnight. But I will not allow end of year megabus spending packages to continue under my leadership.
This CR delivers for the country and ensures @HouseGOP is in the best possible position to fight for fiscal responsibility,…— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) November 12, 2023
Freedom caucus rebellion
The same issue took the problem up a notch in January, when the Freedom Caucus decided to punish its speaker, going so far as to block the approval of several bills in retaliation for passing a new spending bill that prevented a new government shutdown. Johnson was under the microscope and had to address the rumors, ensuring that he did not feel that his position was in danger. In this case, there were 108 votes against, 106 of them from Republicans. To get an idea of the division, 107 conservative congressmen supported the speaker and the Democrats and were able to pass the bill.
Last night, 166 House Democrats voted against a clean, standalone Israel aid package.
There is no reason for them to object to this legislation. They’re doing it for political reasons.
This was a shameful act when our ally Israel needs our help. pic.twitter.com/nZskkqKx8B
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) February 7, 2024
After the agreement was announced, days before the vote, 13 Republican congressmen overturned several measures supported by their own party. Some of the congressmen, such as Warren Davidson, walked out of the session while shouting that Johnson "should never have been hired" for the speaker position. The president of the Freedom Caucus in the House, Bob Good, went so far as to say that the pact with Democrats "was unacceptable."
Four moderate legislators overthrow the impeachment of Mayorkas
The situation became even more complicated last Wednesday when several moderate congressmen banded together to vote against the impeachment of Alejandro Mayorkas. The Secretary of Homeland Security survived the impeachment trial by just two votes. The first vote ended in a tie at 215, which led to a scuffle among conservatives in the middle of the chamber. Ken Buck, Mike Gallagher, Tom McClintock and Blake D. Moore accused their colleagues of trying to "open Pandora's box" by lowering the bar to try to remove a Cabinet member.
As if that were not enough, the Freedom Caucus once again reminded Johnson of his weakness by sinking, together with the Democrats, an initiative to deliver an aid package to Israel unrelated to the negotiations over the border and Ukraine.
Last night, 166 House Democrats voted against a clean, standalone Israel aid package.
There is no reason for them to object to this legislation. They’re doing it for political reasons.
This was a shameful act when our ally Israel needs our help. pic.twitter.com/nZskkqKx8B
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) February 7, 2024
Johnson won't back down
However, Johnson announced that he will continue working to advance conservative policies and help expand the majority ahead of the November elections. In fact, he even vowed to successfully impeach Mayorkas.
