A federal government shutdown was avoided late Friday when outgoing President Joe Biden signed into law a last-minute funding plan.
A shutdown appeared likely after some bills that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) supported failed in the U.S. House of Representatives. But a last-minute bill passed in the House with a 366-34 vote and passed 85-11 when it went to the U.S. Senate.
The bill got bipartisan support in the House.
READ MORE: 'Sorting through the wreckage': Focus groups reveal 'pretty scathing rebuke' of Dem leadership
According to Axios' Andrew Solender, however, House Democrats are "sending an early warning signal" to Johnson that he " shouldn't count on them to rescue him again."
In an article published Monday, Solender reported, "Johnson will have the barest of majorities next year — and he's staring down growing unrest within the Republican conference. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) has said he will vote against Johnson's reelection as speaker on January 3, with several other Republicans saying they are undecided. With a majority as narrow as 219-215, Johnson may only be able to afford to lose one vote."
Far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has repeatedly called for Johnson to be ousted as speaker. But for all their differences with Johnson, House Democrats — including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) — overwhelmingly rejected Greene's "motion to vacate" in a May 2024 vote.
But on Friday Jeffries, according to Solender, "signaled to his members that relations with Johnson had entered a new, significantly worsened phase."
READ MORE: 'Blindsided' and 'furious' Trump turned Elon Musk loose on House leadership: insider
A House Democrat, interviewed on condition of anonymity, told Axios, "I have thought multiple times that I would help Johnson in a tough speaker vote because he was true to his word even in hard times. That has absolutely changed now.
“Trust is all we have in these negotiations. I thought Johnson was truly different. He's no better than (former House Speaker Kevin) McCarthy. He's getting no help from me, and I know many of my colleagues feel the same."
READ MORE: How Trump could try to ban trans athletes from school sports — and why it won't be easy
Read Axios' full article at this link.