When Congress finally emerged from its 43-day shutdown, I noted that House Speaker Mike Johnson of Benton, who has managed to keep control of the chamber’s slim, restive majority for two years now, has
Not one month later, it seems as if an addendum is in order: And these days, he really needs them.
If it can be argued that Johnson won the shutdown when a handful of Senate Democrats finally agreed to the House-passed spending bill that didn’t include their top priority — an extension of the COVID-era enhanced premium tax credits for people on the Affordable Care Act exchanges — it’s also the case that the aftermath
But don’t just take my word for it. In a with Katie Miller, wife of top White House adviser Stephen Miller, Johnson said he spends much of his time in “triage” mode.
“We try to have order and schedule, but it gets blown up because there’s an emergency every 10 minutes,” he said. “And so we’re kind of in survival mode right now.”
From the context of the interview, it’s clear Johnson was talking about how things have been ever since the chaotic stretch in 2023 when he got elected speaker after Kevin McCarthy was ousted and three higher-profile colleagues — including Steve Scalise of Metairie — failed to line up enough votes.
Columnist Stephanie Grace
Still, it’s more true than ever now that the shutdown is over and anger over how he handled that and other matters is spilling out in public.
Yes, Johnson triumphed by sending his members home long enough for those Senate Democrats to cry uncle, but the story didn’t end there.
Once back, he faced the same pressure he was already facing to protect the one man he can’t quit — that would be President Donald Trump — from the release of the notorious Jeffrey Epstein files. Facing a revolt within his own caucus, he finally got on board of a measure that attracted just a single opponent, Clay Higgins of Lafayette.
That did little to assuage hard feelings from some MAGA diehard members — reportedly including committee chairs who once held plenty of power — that they hadn’t been allowed to legislate on their own priorities for all that time away, or really at all during the current Congress, as Johnson’s chosen to completely subjugate the House’s agenda to Trump’s.
The trouble goes way beyond Trump acolyte-turned-critic Marjorie Taylor Greene, who agitated to release the Epstein files and then up and quit Congress. More are rumored to be ready to follow her into early retirement. And still others are angry that the president’s overt power play to keep the House in GOP hands, pushing for a round of mid-decade redistricting, is actually putting some incumbent Republicans in electoral peril.
Things are getting so bad that Johnson’s now openly fighting with a member of his own leadership team, Elise Stefanik, who told that Johnson’s angered so many colleagues that “he certainly wouldn’t have the votes to be speaker if there was a roll-call vote tomorrow.”
Add in an apparent blue wave built in part on widespread frustration over the cost of living and the Trump-instituted tariffs that are contributing to it — not to mention the likelihood that more than 20 million Americans will soon see their health insurance bills skyrocket because Republicans still refuse to extend the ACA subsidies.
Tone-wise, it sure doesn’t help that Trump mocks concern over affordability as a Democratic hoax, as he merrily goes about building a great big ballroom financed by rich companies looking to curry favor. Or that many Americans are rightfully turning on his thuggish treatment of immigrants, or watching him appear to decline mentally in real time.
Sure, Johnson’s had his fun playing Trump’s wingman, frequenting the White House and Mar-a-Lago and joining him at football games and wrestling matches. But with all the glamour come some epic headwinds.
The way things are going, it’s fair to wonder whether 2026 is the year Louisiana’s unlikely speaker comes crashing back down to earth.
