Speaker of the House Mike Johnson may face difficulty in wrangling a slim Republican majority to pass legislation during President-elect Donald Trump's second administration, according to several political analysts.
Why It Matters
While Johnson on Friday was reelected to the speakership on the first ballot, some House Republican critics of the speaker have already signaled that his leadership could pose problems.
Trump enthusiastically endorsed Johnson before the speakership vote, calling him "a good, hard working, religious man" who "will do the right thing" to pass his second-term agenda.
What To Know
Trump's ability to quickly deliver on his legislative agenda will depend in large part on Johnson's ability to unify Republicans while controlling the lower chamber with the slimmest majority since the 1930s.
During a Fox News appearance on Sunday, Johnson insisted that House Republicans would "immediately" be passing Trump's agenda, telling host Maria Bartiromo that he was "jump-starting the agenda now, over the next two weeks, so that [Trump is] prepared and ready on day one."
"We've been putting all the plays together, and figuring out the sequence of how we're going to run those plays," Johnson said. "And we're really excited about it."
What People Are Saying
Republican strategist and pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson, during a CNN appearance shortly after Johnson won the speakership vote on Friday: "The math does not get better from here ... This is just the beginning. If this is supposed to be the easiest vote, it does not get easier from here."
Grant Davis Reheer, Syracuse University political science professor, in comments to Newsweek: "What we just saw with the vote for the Speaker will probably be an issue going forward. This creates an early problem for Republicans, because there are a lot of expectations on the president and this Congress to produce several large domestic pieces of legislation, and to do it quickly—on border security, on taxes, government spending more generally, and on energy ... Democrats will have as much interest in Trump succeeding as Republicans had in Obama or Biden succeeding, which is to say, almost zero."
D. Stephen Voss, political science professor at the University of Kentucky, in comments to Newsweek: "Republicans have such a slim majority that their right flank will continue to enjoy outsized influence. Speaker Johnson has few tools at his disposal for keeping the most-conservative House members in line. Speaker Johnson faced limited opposition because any House Speaker needs to govern, and even the most-conservative members of the House Republican caucus understand that their party will suffer if voters conclude that they're unable to govern."
What Happens Next
Trump's 2024 election win was certified by Congress on Monday and his second term is set to begin following his inauguration on January 20. He will enter office with both houses of Congress narrowly controlled by Republicans.
Johnson has his work cut out for him, as he is leading a House that currently consists of 215 Democratic members and a Republican majority of just 219 members, with the seat of former GOP Congressman Matt Gaetz still vacant.
Passing legislation that Democrats are united in opposing may be particularly difficult early on, as the GOP majority is likely to temporarily drop to just 217 due to two House Republicans—Elise Stefanik and Mike Waltz—having been nominated by Trump to serve in other government roles.
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