Johnson limps across the finish line

The wrath of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., has cooled toward House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., since President-elect Donald Trump made it clear he wanted Johnson to keep the gavel. Greene went from calling for Johnson’s job in March to scoffing at inquiries about it on Tuesday.

“I’m not answering your ridiculous question. I’ve already said publicly that I’ll support him,” Greene replied when asked if Johnson would have to fend her off in January when the House holds speaker elections.

But that was before Johnson unveiled a much-hated 1,547-page spending bill. That was before the House, on Thursday, shot down a second version of that bill. And that was before Republican leadership led a mad scramble to pass yet another iteration of the spending package on Friday that barely kept the government out of a shutdown. Late in the afternoon, the House voted 366-34 to approve Johnson’s latest proposal. The bill received support from 170 Republicans and all Democrats but one, who voted present. Thirty-four Republicans voted against it. The Senate approved the bill overnight Friday, and President Joe Biden is expected to sign it.

Now, the frustrations with Johnson extend far beyond Greene. While the GOP does not solely blame him for its spending headaches, many members—even moderate ones—are beginning to think he could have done more to put Republicans in a better position to succeed over the course of the past year. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., thinks that is evident in the speaker’s communication and transparency.

“I think he was in a no-man’s land. That’s what happens when you hide it for so long, you don’t realize how many warts it has,” Massie said, referring to the blowback Johnson received for his first spending plan. “When you have a bill that bad, the only chance you have is to pass it before the world can see it.”

What was the fork in the road that landed Republicans with a rushed government funding fight on the eve of a shutdown—and almost on the eve of Christmas too? And could Johnson have chosen a different path?

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., a member of the powerful Rules Committee, believes that a pivotal moment came when Johnson made it clear he would not allow the government to shut down no matter the cost.

“To put out, front, and center stage [the message] we’re not going to shut down the government in any case and let’s spend this country into oblivion … weakened our hand,” Norman told WORLD on Wednesday.

In the past year and a half, lawmakers have avoided a shutdown by approving one temporary funding bill after another. Each time, fiscal conservatives have pressured Johnson to seize the moment to cut spending in some way. And at every point, Republicans have extended government funding, citing a need to avert a shutdown.

“I don’t mind compromising with Democrats but I want to substantially address the debt issue,” said Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga. “Nothing easy about that job. But quite frankly, we’ve pinned ourselves in the corner many times. I mean look at the foreign aid package.”

McCormick recalled how the House passed three separate foreign aid bills for Ukraine, Israel, and U.S. allies in the Pacific but then waited to address spending.

“We waited until the pressure was on us now we’re back up against a wall and we have to pass it now—or else. So what are we going to do? We’re going to pass it. But we got nothing out of it. You can’t back yourself into a corner with the timeline and then have any leverage,” McCormick said.

Over the past week, Johnson spent dozens of hours in meetings, scrapped a 1,000-page bill, came up with a new version of that bill, trashed that one, too, proposed several different plans of action in under a day, rallied the party, and finally funded the government.

Does he get credit for that?

“The equivalent of what Mike Johnson has had to do over the last couple weeks is like trying to eat a live porcupine,” Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., said following the closed-door meeting where Republicans agreed on their third and final plan. “That ain’t easy. I think it would be really interesting if we could play a game called ‘speaker for a day’ and have people who are incredibly critical of leadership try to do their job. I think there would be much different attitudes.”

But other Republicans believe that Johnson has squandered too many opportunities. Massie also called for Johnson’s job back in March. On Thursday night, he said the speaker had stretched the conference’s expectations and trust too far.

“You don’t get credit for putting a bill on the floor that fails,” Massie said. “And you also don’t get credit for lacking so much situational awareness that you think that first bill had any chance of passing. No credit. Zero credit assigned. Zero stars.”