House GOP has 'willingly castrated its own power': Axios

A new report from Axios highlights the unprecedented implosion of Republicans in the House of Representatives.

The report begins by contending that "never before has the party in control of the House of Representatives knowingly and willingly castrated its own power so thoroughly as today's Republicans," and it then proceeds to document all the steps the GOP took that led them to this point.

Per Axios, two decisions in particular paved the GOP's road to ruin: The decision to let Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and "surrendering authority of the Rules Committee, which sets the terms for how legislation will be handled during votes."

When it comes to the Rules Committee, the appointments of hardliners like Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) has rendered the committee an obstructive force that routinely thwarts the will of the speaker, as it has killed seven bills in just the last year.

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"This is an unprecedented collapse in control," Axios adds. "Former Speakers Nancy Pelosi, Paul Ryan and John Boehner never lost a rules vote."

The House GOP has also not been helped by multiple resignations, as well as the expulsion of scandal-plagued Rep. George Santos (R-NY), that have shrunk its majority down to the slimmest of margins.

All of this has forced House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) into an uneasy coalition government-style arrangement in which he depends on House Democrats to perform the basics of governing such as avoiding government shutdowns and providing American allies with military aid.

Although three House Republicans -- Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), and Massie -- have vowed to support a motion to vacate Johnson as speaker over his deals with Democrats, at this point it appears that there are enough Democrats who would come to Johnson's rescue to defeat such a measure.