A Republican lawmaker who has angered GOP congressional leaders in recent weeks could lose his grip on power and should be the next to consider leaving, an analyst said this week.
Marjorie Taylor Greene's announcement that she's departing from her role in Congress and has turned away from her "idol" President Donald Trump exposed who could next be on the chopping block for MAGA, writer Eleanor Clift explained in an opinion piece for The Daily Beast. It has also put Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who has enraged his Republican colleagues, in a tight spot.
"Wherever she lands, and whoever she lands on, it’s likely to impact the extremely tight, seriously stressed GOP majority—218 to 214 once she leaves in January. It’s widely predicted that the party will lose its majority in the House come next year’s midterms," Clift wrote.
A special election in a heavily red Tennessee district on Tuesday could show signs that Republicans have slipped.
"Democrats have overperformed in a series of special elections, and there could be more challenges as Republicans who see their power ebbing and think Trump has gone too far will be looking for the exits," Clift wrote.
It could also further reveal Johnson's "duck-and-cover" approach" hasn't worked.
"Members of the GOP caucus across the political spectrum are furious that Johnson has consistently put the White House’s interests ahead of theirs. And now they’re fighting back. He was embarrassed by the discharge petition that allowed the rank and file to bring the Epstein files to the floor over his opposition. Members also used a discharge petition to allow parents of newborns to appoint a proxy vote earlier this year—and another, to force a vote to ban members from insider stock trading, is in the works," Clift explained.
Johnson's leadership has been criticized by both parties — including his own. It's unclear what his future could look like as more Republicans are expected to resign in Congress and Democrats make further gains in deep red states.
Greene's "challenge to the powers that be has exposed the weakness of both puppet and puppet master. And it makes her a force to be reckoned with, too," the writer explained.
"That puppet, in Johnson, is likely to stay put—since nobody else wants the job," Clift wrote. "He is not the first speaker to lose the confidence of his caucus, but would be the first to lose the majority outright if special elections don’t go his way. Former Speaker John Boehner fought off multiple coup attempts from right-wing diehards before he stepped down in 2015, mid-Congress, singing 'Zippity-doo-dah!' Can Johnson find a similarly happy tune, whether he stays or goes? Unlikely."
