GOP lawmakers refusing to return for votes until Mike Johnson cleans up his mess: report

Noting the massive disparity in working days between the US Senate under Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and the GOP-controlled House laboring under embattled Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Politico is reporting that time is growing short to get legislation — any legislation — voted upon.

According to Politico’s Meredith Lee Hill and Calen Razor, Johnson’s inability to get all of the factions in his caucus on the same page has led to postponed votes, which has prompted GOP lawmakers to stay home and prepare for a bruising midterm.

The contrast is stark: while Senate Majority Leader John Thune's chamber maintains a robust schedule, the House under Johnson has become increasingly dysfunctional, with Republican leaders repeatedly canceling votes to avoid the humiliation of failed floor votes.

The strategy has backfired spectacularly, Politico is reporting. With only 38 scheduled legislative days remaining before Election Day, GOP lawmakers are opting to stay home rather than return to Washington for votes that Johnson's leadership cannot guarantee will succeed.

According to the report, Tuesday was supposed to mark the start of a productive legislative week, with House members returning from the weekend to pass a slate of bipartisan bills. Instead, the chamber sat nearly empty after Republican leaders postponed the scheduled votes.

Johnson's fractured caucus has repeatedly sabotaged his legislative agenda. Senior House Republicans and aides now openly acknowledge it's preferable to cancel votes entirely than risk the political fallout from public defeats on the House floor.

"Even if one or two members are missing, it can derail a whole week of floor plans," one senior GOP aide granted anonymity to discuss the majority's challenges told Politico.

Johnson's problems have been compounded by mathematical challenges. Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) has been absent from Capitol Hill since March 5 due to what his office characterizes as a health matter, further eroding the speaker's already fragile majority.

Recent voting sessions have exposed the depth of Johnson's predicament, the report notes. In the final hours before the Memorial Day recess, GOP leaders suffered a "humiliating defeat" when a small group of Republicans defected to join Democrats in "voting down a bill that would have advanced plans for the Smithsonian National Women's History Museum while barring exhibits on transgender women and giving Trump more control over its location."

Johnson faced another GOP rebellion moments later over a Democratic-forced vote on ending hostilities with Iran. The measure appeared poised for passage thanks to Republican defections that would have delivered Trump a major political blow. Johnson hastily huddled with Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) and top GOP aides before ultimately postponing the vote until after the recess.

As the speaker struggled through that final May session day, the sentiment among House Republicans was unmistakable. "We just gotta get out of here," one senior House Republican was heard to mutter.