Johnson Leadership Challenges Over Government Funding Plan

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was on the verge of pushing through a pork-filled government spending plan before Trump slammed the breaks on it.

Johnson was more or less told that if he backed that bill, his days as Speaker were over.

Impossible Position

I understand the dilemma that Johnson faces, but he is the one who made the promises about no more omnibus spending when he agreed to become Speaker.

He has caved to Democrats on multiple occasions, and he was ready to do it again with this massive spending bill Democrats just pushed through the Senate.

Johnson tried to justify this by citing the “razor-thin” margin that the GOP has in the House, stating that he has been put in an “impossible position.”

He added, "We've got it in our central focus and when we start the new Congress in January, when Republicans are in control and DOGE (the Department of Government Efficiency) is working on all six cylinders, we're going to be able to scale back the size and scope of government.”

Not Good Enough

As word passed that Johnson was going to floor the bill, needing only minimal support from Republicans (all Democrats would have backed this bill), the resistance started to speak up against Johnson remaining as the Speaker.

Leading the charge was Rep. Massie (R-KY), who openly stated that he would not be supporting Johnson for Speaker next term if he passed that bill through the House. He stated, “I’ll vote for somebody else. I’ve got a few in mind. I’m not going to say yet.”

Rep. Ely Crane (R-AZ) added, “So Congress is failing the American people AGAIN and giving themselves a raise in the process? Can’t make this stuff up. I will be voting NO.”

Rep Andrew Clyde (R-GA) was also fuming, stating, “The American people just delivered President Trump and congressional Republicans a decisive mandate. So why did our House Republican leadership negotiate the spending bill like we lost?”

Trump Steps In

Donald Trump sent a very clear message to Johnson through the media, stating that Johnson would “easily remain speaker” if he “acts decisively and tough” and eliminates “all of the traps being set by Democrats” in the spending package. A nice passive-aggressive message telling him to not put the bill on the floor, or else.

Trump and Vance later released a full statement on the spending bill…

A statement from President Donald J. Trump and Vice President-Elect JD Vance:

The most foolish and inept thing ever done by Congressional Republicans was allowing our country to hit the debt ceiling in 2025. It was a mistake and is now something that must be addressed.…

— JD Vance (@JDVance) December 18, 2024

Democrats are going to rail about the GOP shutting down the government, but they will not tell you the reason why, which is all the nonsense that was added to that spending bill, such as protections for January 6 Committee members that may have broken the law by manipulating, hiding, or destroying evidence.

What worries me about Johnson is that the man has never shown a backbone. Again, I get the situation that he is in, but he is the one who made the promises, and he needs to start delivering on them. And if it takes shutting down the government until Republicans take over, so be it.