House Speaker Mike Johnson is still taking internal fire from members of his own conference, as complaints pile up about his leadership style.
Punchbowl News reports that Johnson is now overseeing "the most chaotic, inefficient and ineffective majority we’ve seen in decades covering Congress," and the speaker has been the target of "tremendous criticism" for his decision-making process, which has often left members of the conference feeling left in the dark about where he really stands.
"There’s always this internal struggle [for Johnson] being a movement conservative and then having to be pragmatic," a source described as a "top Republican" explained to Punchbowl News. "So that’s playing out a lot... it feels like chaos. Rudderless.”
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The Punchbowl News report goes on to explain the reasons why Johnson appears to be historically unqualified to lead what was already a fractious GOP conference even before his ascendance to the speakership.
"Unlike speakers before him, this House Republican Conference was built without Johnson’s input or effort," the report argues. "McCarthy was the lead architect for this majority, having traveled incessantly for hundreds of candidates across the country. Former Speaker Paul Ryan led two committees, helping build relationships with dozens of lawmakers as he wrote budgets and passed bills. Former Speaker John Boehner had two stints in leadership, led a committee and traveled all year for the GOP. Johnson has done none of that."
