All posts tagged "mike johnson"

Lindsey Graham unleashes fiery warning to Mike Johnson: 'I won't forget this'

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) unleashed a fiery warning to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) Friday.

As a federal shutdown deadline was just hours away, Graham voiced his anger over the House voting against a law that would allow senators to sue the federal government — for potentially millions of dollars — if their data was obtained without their notification. Graham vowed that he wouldn't give up on the payout provision in the legislation.

Journalist Jamie Dupree shared Graham's reaction in a post on X.

"Graham angry about the House voting to repeal the law that lets Senators sue for damages over the Jan. 6 probe," Dupree wrote.

"You jammed me - Speaker Johnson, I won't forget this," Graham said. "If you think I'm going to give up on this, you really don't know me."

Speaker triggers fear of massive backfire with plan to save midterms for GOP: analysis

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson could be preparing a last-minute pitch to salvage 2026 for the Republican Party, a political analyst has claimed.

It could be a move that makes the GOP nervous, as CNN analysts Lauren Fox and Sarah Ferris argued an economic bill could be a chance for Johnson to revitalize interest in the Trump agenda. But it could massively backfire for Johnson, who gave instructions to GOP lawmakers to pitch in with new ideas.

"Johnson has instructed chairmen to come up with a menu of ideas they’d like to see in another GOP economic bill," Fox and Ferris wrote. "But whether the bill is focused on health care, tax policy or further deficit reduction is still not clear.

"And it will be difficult for Johnson to start cobbling together a new bill when he is still constantly quelling internal fights about GOP priorities on the floor and begging members to show up for votes with no room to spare in their narrow margin.

"Last week alone, GOP leaders lost a floor vote they didn’t even realize was in trouble and were forced to pull several other measures from their agenda."

Fox and Ferris compared the upcoming economic bill to that of the GOP's Obamacare repeal effort in Trump's first term. They wrote, "Johnson’s agenda 2.0 plan is a long-shot effort that comes with no shortage of potential downsides for him and for the party."

"Trying and failing — like Republicans did with their Obamacare repeal effort in 2017 ahead of Trump’s last midterm — could highlight GOP ineptitude just months before the election. And conservatives are already telegraphing they want to see significant cuts to a federal budget that moderates are struggling to defend on the campaign trail."

It does not appear to align with centrist Republican party views, though, and Johnson will have a tough battle on his hands if the likes of Nebraska's Don Bacon and New Jersey's Jeff Van Drew are to be believed. Both told CNN they would be more interested in "bipartisan wins" than anything else.

Bacon said, "I just think it creates a very polarized environment. I think it’s bad to lean on it.” Drew agreed, adding the GOP needs to "really regroup" in the time before the midterms, and that he hopes the party "don't do something stupid."

'Mission from God': Analyst ridicules Mike Johnson for how he runs House

Mike Johnson has been ridiculed by a political analyst for running the House as though he is on a "mission from God."

Commentary from Greg Sargent and Sarah Posner highlighted the shortcomings of Johnson's role as Speaker of the House. The GOP representative, according to Posner, does not represent the American people, just those who voted for the party. Speaking to The New Republic, Posner said, "For Johnson, he represents only Republicans."

"In his mind, he doesn’t represent all American people. He thinks that he is on a mission from God to carry out a biblical or a Christian kind of government. And in his mind, that kind of government, you know, does not represent the ideals of, you know, helping your neighbor, welcoming the stranger—things that many people would think are biblical values."

"But for him, the biblical values are a strong, powerful, militarized government that lays down the law and protects America from what he sees as America’s enemies: the left."

Johnson could be set to lose his majority in the House, with an analyst for MS Now believing the House leader will be in an untenable position by the end of the year.

After the unexpected death of Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) and serious car crash involving Rep. Jim Baird (R-IN), who was hospitalized and expected to recover — but will not be available for upcoming votes — the Republican majority is hanging in the balance, according to Steve Benen, producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show."

"LaMalfa’s death leaves House Speaker Mike Johnson with a 218-member conference — in a chamber where 218 is the bare minimum for a majority," Benen explained.

"On the other hand, later this month, voters will replace the late Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner in one of Texas’ bluest districts, increasing the Democratic conference to 214 members and narrowing the House GOP’s advantage even more."

Mike Johnson admits ICE 'doing what it's designed to do' after Minnesota mom's killing

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) told reporters Wednesday that ICE agents don't need any guardrails after the fatal killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis and reported attacks on citizens across the United States.

Democrats have signaled they would like to add additional oversight and potentially cut back on funding for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency after agent Jonathan Ross shot dead 37-year-old Good behind the wheel of her car last week.

"I think there's a lot of Democrats playing games right now with national security and with law enforcement, and I think it's dangerous," Johnson told The Independent's D.C. Bureau Chief Eric Michael Garcia, who shared video of Johnson's remarks on X.

"ICE is doing what ICE is designed to do, by its very name it's Immigration and Customs Enforcement, they're enforcing federal law," Johnson added. "They're going and getting dangerous criminals, sometimes in sanctuary cities, where they get too much resistance, and you know, we've seen the tragic consequences and effects of that so I don't think we need to be cutting funding right now. I think the American people want the law to be enforced. I think we need to let law enforcement do his job."

Mike Johnson tells me he opposes adding additional guardrails or accountability for ICE after the killing of Renee Good pic.twitter.com/VBmlQsh0lj
— Eric Michael Garcia (@EricMGarcia) January 14, 2026

'Scuttlebutt' suggests Mike Johnson is about to lose House majority: MS Now analyst

Rumors have surfaced that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is anticipated to lose the GOP's House majority, an MS Now analyst reported Wednesday.

"LaMalfa’s death leaves House Speaker Mike Johnson with a 218-member conference — in a chamber where 218 is the bare minimum for a majority," Benen explained.

Even President Donald Trump is worried. He addressed the Republican party over concerns about losing the narrow majority Tuesday, also telling GOP lawmakers his prediction that he could be impeached if they lose the midterms in November.

But that's not the only concern among Republicans. After Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's (R-GA) resignation Monday, plus Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) often voting against his party's initiatives, other murmurs of exits have surfaced.

"What’s more, conditions for the majority party are likely to get worse before they get better, Benen wrote. "While Greene and LaMalfa are likely to be replaced by Republicans, the special elections to fill their vacancies are still months away. On the other hand, later this month, voters will replace the late Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner in one of Texas’ bluest districts, increasing the Democratic conference to 214 members and narrowing the House GOP’s advantage even more."

The stakes have become higher for the GOP now more than ever. And for Johnson, this could present even more challenges.

"Hanging overhead, meanwhile, is recent scuttlebutt that other current House Republicans, including New York’s Elise Stefanik and South Carolina’s Nancy Mace, are weighing possible resignations before their terms end," according to Benen.

"By any fair measure, 2025 was exceedingly difficult for Johnson and his fellow House GOP leaders. There are fresh reasons to believe 2026 will be worse."

Trump panic over Republican's shock death spurred last-minute speech to House GOP: expert

President Donald Trump responded to the dwindling lead of GOP congressional leaders in his address to the Republican Party on Tuesday in Washington, D.C.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN'S chief national affairs correspondent, told anchors Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown that Trump now has a more difficult challenge in the 2026 midterms following news of the sudden death of 65-year-old Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), and a declining number of GOP leaders in the House.

"The bottom line, what he's trying to do is keep Republicans in control of the House majority," Zeleny said. "That's why he is at the Kennedy Center and this is the beginning of a very critical year for President Trump because if Republicans lose their House majority, he knows how the final two years of his term will be. Democrats will be in charge — investigations, oversight."

Trump has considered the next several months and what LaMalfa's death could mean for majority in House, Zeleny said.

"This was not expected. Of course. We send our thoughts to his family and friends, but what it means, politically speaking as well, is now Speaker [Mike] Johnson can only lose two seats," Zeleny said.

"The majority is so small, of course, Marjorie Taylor Greene resigned last evening," he added. "There will be a special election in New Jersey coming up to fill a seat for Mikie Sherrill. If Democrats win that seat, the majority will be down to one. So literally the majority of this House of Representatives is hanging in the balance. But President Trump is there clearly trying to sort of keep spirits high for House Republicans as they try to keep their majority."

Mike Johnson insists Congress didn't need to know about military operation to oust Maduro

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) Monday insisted that Congress didn't need to know about the military operation to oust Venezuela's president.

Johnson spoke to the press in Washington, D.C., just hours after Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were arraigned in Manhattan, New York City.

"It's an operation that did not require prior consent of Congress, prior authorization of Congress — it required notification of Congress. It's well within Article II [of the Constitution]," Johnson said. "I know as many details as I can know before going to the skiff, for the classified briefing, but I spoke with the president of the United States, the secretary of state, the secretary of defense within hours of the operation commencing. The first call was from Marco Rubio at about 4 a.m., so they've done everything that they were supposed to do, this was an appropriate action, and we'll get a lot more detail inside."

He argued that the Trump administration had met its requirements for the capture of Maduro, despite criticism from fellow lawmakers.

"All the administration officials have been talking to Senate and House members on a constant basis since this happened, and this is a big part of their obligation there. We'll have a further briefing for all members of Congress by sometime this week," Johnson added.

Republican warns GOP should brace for rebellions as 'keys to car' 'wrestled' from speaker

Slim margins in the House of Representatives mean the Republican Party should brace for stalemates, a GOP member has claimed.

The party has seen its House majority thin following the high-profile resignation of Marjorie Taylor Greene. Though it still holds a majority of five, some moderates within the Republican Party have defected on several crucial votes. A threatened government shutdown following a failure to solve a healthcare subsidies bill — along with the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files — highlight the in-fighting taking place in the GOP.

It is something the Democratic Party will be keen to take advantage of this year, and according to Republican Party rep Thomas Massie (KY), the fractured GOP will struggle. Massie suggested moderates in the party had "wrestled" control away from Speaker Mike Johnson and President Donald Trump, though there are still problems for the Republican Party to deal with.

Speaking to NOTUS, Massie said, "Mike Johnson has given the keys to the car to President Trump, but we wrestled the keys back and took them for a spin and got the Epstein Act passed right. There may be more discharge petitions, as long as the speaker keeps things bottled up and just does whatever the president does and keeps everything else from happening."

Johnson will find it "hard to escape" the issues plaguing the party, with healthcare subsidies still a sore spot for the GOP, according to political analyst Meredith Lee Hill.

She wrote, "The House returns from the holiday recess to confront old issues that continue to bedevil Johnson — from a politically perilous battle over health care and the ongoing release of the Jeffrey Epstein files to a messy intra-GOP fight over lawmakers’ stock trading and another looming government shutdown cliff."

"But Johnson will find it hard to escape internally divisive clashes as the GOP feels pressure to address the rising cost of living and otherwise firm up its standing ahead of the November midterms."

"But even Republican leaders’ unity-building proposals — such as highlighting fraud convictions in Minnesota — could end up sparking fights," she went on.

"A growing number of conservatives want Trump to reinstate Elon Musk in his prior role as efficiency czar to probe reports of Medicaid fraud and other related projects. But other Republicans, especially key moderates, are cool to the idea."

'Hard to escape': Mike Johnson set for rough 2026 as he tackles GOP's internal 'clashes'

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is in for a rough year as he oversees in-fighting in the Republican Party, a political analyst has suggested.

Johnson will find it "hard to escape" the issues plaguing the party, with healthcare subsidies still a sore spot for the GOP. Cost-of-living crises and the ongoing release of Jeffrey Epstein's files are taking their toll on the party too, with "internally divisive clashes" making it hard for Republicans to find common ground, according to Politico's Meredith Lee Hill.

Writing of the problems Johnson faces, Hill claimed there is a "politically perilous battle" at hand which could lead to another government shutdown.

She wrote, "The House returns from the holiday recess to confront old issues that continue to bedevil Johnson — from politically perilous battle over health care and the ongoing release of the Jeffrey Epstein files to a messy intra-GOP fight over lawmakers’ stock trading and another looming government shutdown cliff."

"But Johnson will find it hard to escape internally divisive clashes as the GOP feels pressure to address the rising cost of living and otherwise firm up its standing ahead of the November midterms."

Even the more unified topics for the GOP, fraud convictions in Minnesota for instance, could prove troubling for the party. "Key moderates", Hill says, are not as keen to back the reinstatement of Elon Musk, too, with Donald Trump's administration slowly starting to alienate those in the House.

Hill wrote, "This week, House GOP leaders are planning to hold votes on a bill from Rep. Erin Houchin (R-Ind.) that would cut red tape and relax energy efficiency standards for manufactured housing as well as a measure from Rep. Russell Fry (R-S.C.) that would codify Trump’s effort to roll back a regulation instituted under former President Joe Biden limiting water flow for shower nozzles."

"But even Republican leaders’ unity-building proposals — such as highlighting the fraud convictions in Minnesota — could end up sparking fights."

Republicans are folding their beach chairs before a massive blue wave crashes

By Charlie Hunt, Associate Professor of Political Science, Boise State University.

The midterm elections for Congress won’t take place until November, but already a record number of members have declared their intention not to run — 43 in the House, plus 10 senators. Perhaps the most high-profile person to depart, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), announced her intention to resign from Congress entirely on Jan. 5 – a full year before her term was set to expire.

There are political dynamics that explain this rush to the exits, including frustrations with gridlock and President Donald Trump’s lackluster approval ratings, which could hurt Republicans at the ballot box.

Rather than get swept away by a prospective “blue wave” favoring Democrats — or possibly daunted by the monumental effort it would take to survive — many Republicans have decided to fold up the beach chair and head home before the wave crashes.

As of now, two dozen Republican House members have either resigned or announced their intent to not run for reelection. With only two exceptions — Republicans in 2018 and 2020 — this is more departures from either party at this point in the election calendar than any other cycle over the past 20 years.

There is also growing concern within the House Republican caucus that Greene is a canary in the coal mine and that multiple resignations will follow.

As a political scientist who studies Congress and politicians’ reelection strategies, I’m not surprised to see many House members leaving ahead of what’s shaping up to be a difficult midterm for the GOP. Still, the sheer numbers of people not running tells us something about broader dissatisfaction with Washington.

Why do members leave Congress?

Many planned departures are true retirements involving older and more experienced members.

For example, 78-year-old Democratic congressman Jerry Nadler is retiring after 34 years, following mounting pressure from upstart challengers and a growing consensus among Democrats that it’s time for older politicians to step aside. Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker who will turn 86 in March, is also retiring.

Sometimes, members of Congress depart for the same reasons other workers might leave any job. Like many Americans, members of Congress might find something more attractive elsewhere. Retiring members are attractive hires for lobbying firms and corporations, thanks to their insider knowledge and connections within the institution. These firms usually offer much higher salaries than members are used to in Congress, which may explain why more than half of all living former members are lobbyists of some kind.

Other members remain ambitious for elective office and decide to use their position in Congress as a springboard for another position. Members of the House regularly retire to run for a Senate seat, such as, in this cycle, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI). Others run for executive offices, including governor, such as Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC).

But some are leaving Congress due to growing frustration with the job and an inability to get things done. Specifically, many retiring members cite growing dysfunction within their own party, or in Congress as a whole, as the reason they’re moving on.

In a statement announcing his departure in June, Sen. Thom Tillis, (R-NC), mused that “between spending another six years navigating the political theater and partisan gridlock in Washington or spending that time with my family,” it was “not a hard choice” to leave the Senate.

What’s unique about 2026?

In addition, there are a few other factors that can help explain why so many Republicans in particular are heading for the exits leading up to 2026.

The shifting of boundaries that has come with the mid-decade redistricting process in several states this year has scrambled members’ priorities. Unfamiliar districts can drive incumbents to early retirement by severing their connection with well-established constituencies.

In Texas, six Republicans and three Democrats — nearly a quarter of the state’s entire House delegation — are either retiring or running for other offices, due in part to that state’s new gerrymander for 2026.

All decisions about retirement and reelection are sifted through the filter of electoral and partisan considerations. A phenomenon called “thermostatic politics” predicts that parties currently in power, particularly in the White House, tend to face a backlash from voters in the following election. In other words, the president’s party nearly always loses seats in midterms.

In 2006 and 2018, for example, Republican members of Congress were weighed down by the reputations of unpopular Republican Presidents George W. Bush and Trump. Republicans had arguably even greater success in midterm elections during Barack Obama’s presidency.

Currently, 2026 looks like it will present a poor national environment for Republicans. Trump remains highly unpopular, according to polls, and Democrats are opening up a consistent lead in the “generic ballot” question, which asks respondents which party they intend to support in the 2026 midterms without reference to individual candidates.

Democrats have already been overperforming in special elections, as well as the general election in November in states such as New Jersey and Virginia, which held elections for governor. Democrats are on average running 13 points ahead of Kamala Harris’ performance in the 2024 election.

As a result, even Republicans in districts thought to be safe for their party may see themselves in enough potential danger to abandon the fight in advance.

Retirement vs resignation

One final, unique aspect of this election cycle with major consequences is not an electoral but an institutional one.

House conservatives are quietly revolting against Speaker Mike Johnson’s leadership style. That members may be frustrated enough not just to retire but resign in advance, leaving their seats temporarily vacant, is a notable sign of dysfunction in the U.S. House.

This also could have a major impact on policy, given how slim the Republicans’ majority in the lower chamber is already. Whatever the outcome of the midterms in November, these departures clearly matter in Washington and offer important signals about the chaos in Congress.