'What a mess': Mike Johnson suffers 'bad start' to 2026 as even minor House votes collapse

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is trying to kick off the new year with a series of bills focused on the economy — but he suffered a stunning defeat on Tuesday, as three out of the four bills on the schedule failed to pass.

The four bills under consideration were the Flexibility for Workers Education Act and Empowering Employer Child and Elder Care Solutions Act, two bills that carve out exceptions to when workers can claim overtime pay; the Tipped Employee Protection Act, which expands the definition of a tipped employee; and the SHOWER Act, which permanently codifies President Donald Trump's definition of a shower head to relax water conservation rules.

Of these three bills, just the SHOWER Act passed. And the failures didn't go unnoticed.

"House GOP defections sink labor bill to ease overtime rules — in a surprise defeat for Mike Johnson," reported Meredith Lee Hill of Politico.

Multiple Republicans who voted against the bill slammed it as an attack on labor rights, with Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY) saying, “I believe hardworking Americans should be paid for their time, including when they’re training with their employer, and I will stand against efforts to take that pay away.”

"Bad start to 2026 for Johnson and House Rs," wrote CNN's Sarah Ferris on X. "A somewhat random coalition of Rs just tanked a workers education bill. Some had issues with it being anti-labor. Others had other random gripes. This comes as Johnson & leadership made a clear pivot toward more economy focused bills."

"What a mess for the House GOP. 4 minor bills on the schedule — and only one of them passes (the SHOWER Act)," wrote independent congressional reporter Jamie Dupree.

This comes as Johnson, who is fighting to keep his narrow House majority in this year's midterm elections, is facing a number of vacancies, including the unexpected death of Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA).