WASHINGTON — By most accounts, Speaker Mike Johnson inherited a Republican majority in the House of Representatives that was in disarray following the sudden impeachment of his predecessor last month.
But as Johnson, R-La., tries to rebuild that slim majority, he’s quickly running into the same far-right factions and divisions that Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., couldn’t tame. That distorts the party’s agenda, sets aside priorities and leaves nagging questions about any leader’s ability to govern.
Capitol Hill turned into new scenes of political chaos this past week as tensions ran high. A Republican senator challenged a Teamsters union boss to a brawl, one of several outbursts involving lawmakers, and the untested new chairman was forced to abandon his own party’s schedule and send everyone home early for Thanksgiving.
“This place is a pressure cooker,” Johnson complained. Hopefully, he said, people will “cool down.”
But the prospects don’t seem any better. House Republicans who vowed to cut federal spending, investigate President Joe Biden and end a long line of Democratic policies have made only incremental progress on their priorities.
Although McCarthy struck a surprise debt deal with Biden earlier this year that set a course to reduce federal deficits by $1.5 trillion over the next decade, a conservative victory, this victory exists mainly on paper.
Republicans have not been able to pass all the legislation needed to put all these cuts into law and have pulled some bills out of the House of Representatives. However, centrist conservatives said the measures went too far, as the far-right faction demands deeper cuts to government programs.
As the days before a possible government shutdown grow shorter, Congress has had little choice but to pass another short-term measure that will keep federal spending on autopilot for a few more months. This avoids a federal shutdown for the time being, but does ensure the next showdown in January.
“We didn’t do anything!” thundered Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, as he blasted his colleagues in a lengthy speech as lawmakers fled for the exits.
Conservatives were particularly outraged by the temporary spending bill, called a continuing resolution, that kept spending at levels agreed last year, when Democrats had full control of Congress and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was the speaker . .
“When are we going to do what we said we were going to do?” Roy scolded. “When are we going to act like a Republican majority and start fighting?”
It is the same complaint that led the far-right bloc to oust McCarthy in October, the first dethronement of a speaker in American history, and which will threaten Johnson’s leadership.
The rift between Republicans and the GOP over spending underscores the disconnect between Republican ideals of shrinking the size and scope of government and the reality of cutting programs and services close to home.
Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., was among the more centrist conservatives who voted against a procedural step in the legislation to fund the Justice Department, among other things, because he said cuts to law enforcement would hurt public safety agencies.
“My voters don’t want me to vote for that,” he said.
Republicans are also outraged that they have endured countless midnight voting sessions considering hundreds of amendments — voting to cut Biden administration salaries to $1, in an effort to end “woke” policies on the area of diversity and inclusion – about legislative packages that ultimately lead nowhere.
After ten months in the majority, LaLota said the strategy is not working. “My constituents want us to make cuts, but they want us to make cuts in the right areas,” he said.
What makes Congress’s job more complicated is that there is a world at war.
Biden has asked Congress for an additional spending package of nearly $106 billion to provide military and government support to Ukraine in the fight against Russia, as well as to support Israel in its war with Hamas and provide aid to the Palestinians in Gaza. The package has other priorities, including strengthening U.S.-Mexico border security, which will be a top priority when lawmakers return.
On the eve of the vote, Johnson laid out his strategy for the stopgap measure, building on the far-right Freedom Caucus’ proposal to split the spending bill into two parts, with funding for some agencies set to expire on January 19 and then on February 19. 2 for others.
But Conservatives have rejected the plan and caucus members said most would oppose it. Johnson rejected their suggestion to at least add the House-approved Israel aid package as a way to force the Senate to act.
Far-right members rolled their eyes at Johnson’s strategy. But they said they wanted to give the new speaker the grace to find his way.
“The new speaker is respected. He is admired and trusted,” said Rep. Bob Good, R-Va. “You know, he’s human. He is imperfect, like all of us.”
Republicans are well aware that their slim majority in the House of Representatives is increasingly at risk ahead of the 2024 election season if they cannot deliver on their promises to voters. Many lawmakers in both parties are choosing to retire rather than continue fighting the same battles.
Johnson defended his three-week job, saying: “I can’t turn around an aircraft carrier overnight.” He insisted he is in “a very different situation” than the one McCarthy faced.
“We have some great plans,” he told reporters at a news conference.
But Republican Rep. Garrett Graves of Louisiana, a key McCarthy ally, said the idea “by electing a new chairman suddenly gets all these new options, which I think is now realized is not factual.”
He added: “I think it will continue to be a bumpy road going forward.”
After House Democrats provided the votes needed to help Johnson avoid a federal shutdown, Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, whose party also cast the votes to help oust McCarthy, said he is working to secure a to have a good relationship with the new chairman.
Asked if he had any advice for Johnson, Jeffries said: “Good luck.”