A neverending battle in Washington: Difficulties for Mike. Difficulties for Donald

Speaker Johnson and President Trump.
Photo: NBC News

Powerful political battles continue in the US establishment. ‘The Hill’ writes about the difficult situation in the House of Representatives and the fate of Speaker Johnson.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) averted a government shutdown, but the days-long rollercoaster as the leaders cycled through multiple plans leaves serious questions about how the Speaker will manage the House GOP under President-elect Trump — and whether he can keep his gavel.

Republican frustration with Johnson this week boiled over beyond the typically antagonistic hardline conservative wing as he went from unveiling a bipartisan 1,500 bill and then abandoning it due to GOP opposition; to pushing a slimmed-down plan B that included a debt ceiling increase requested by Trump, which failed on the House floor; to finally ushering through the slimmed-down version without a debt ceiling lift.

“There’s zero communication from leadership to the membership. And it’s frustrating. And it’s something that should change before January 3,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) said as she entered a House GOP conference meeting on Friday. “We need a clear understanding of how we’re going to do things next session, because what’s happening now is completely unacceptable.”

Jan. 3 is the first day of the 119th Congress, where the first order of business for House members will be electing the Speaker.

Johnson cannot afford more than one Republican defection on the House floor in the Jan. 3 Speakership election, assuming all members are present and voting. Republicans are set to have 219 Republicans taking the oath of office on Jan. 3, and all 215 Democrats are expected to vote for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) – with Jeffries saying this month that Democrats will not save Johnson from a GOP revolt.

One Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie (Ky.), is already publicly pledging to vote against the Speaker on Jan. 3.

A number of other Republicans who spoke to The Hill this week also withheld their support for Johnson. And Johnson is losing backing from others who previously supported him.

The situation echoes the sequence of events that led to former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) being ousted from the Speakership in October 2023 just days after he pushed through a short-term government funding bill with the help of Democrats.

But there are several differences in the dynamics. While former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) claimed that he moved to oust McCarthy over policy gripes, McCarthy maintained that Gaetz had a personal vendetta against him over an ethics investigation.

Delaying the election of a Speaker for multiple days, as was the case with McCarthy in 2023, would also clash with Congress’s statutory responsibility to count the electoral votes that certify Trump’s victory on Jan. 6.

Johnson has also enjoyed the support of Trump, which helped him get nominated as Speaker in an unanimous internal voice vote in November.

But some members think Trump could be doing more to signal his support for Johnson.

Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) said that “going multiple rounds, fighting with one another” over the Speakership, as members did with McCarthy over 15 ballots in 2023, would “delay the work that we have to do to deliver on the America first mandate.”

Difficulties for Johnson will extend far beyond Jan. 3, though.

Given the steep challenges, Johnson was asked by a reporter Friday evening if he even wants to keep the job.

“Being Speaker of the House is a challenge in this modern era, but it’s a challenge that we accept,” Johnson responded. “I wouldn’t say it’s the most fun job in the world all the time, but it’s an important one. A hugely consequential moment for the country.”

read more in our Telegram-channel https://t.me/The_International_Affairs