Elise Stefanik may be tanking Mike Johnson’s speakership on her way out the door
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is likely hoping that this week goes better for him than last week, when one of the senior leaders in his caucus called him a “political novice” and some of the usual suspects among the GOP’s far-right caucus mounted a brief insurrection. But with a major vote coming up that nobody in the House seems thrilled about, or prepared for, the speaker doesn’t have much reason to be hopeful of even clearing that low a bar.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, who is running for governor of New York, has become the figurehead of a growing frustration with Johnson’s speakership — despite being a member of the caucus’s senior leadership. “He certainly wouldn’t have the votes to be speaker if there was a roll-call vote tomorrow,” Stefanik told The Wall Street Journal on Dec. 2. “I believe that the majority of Republicans would vote for new leadership. It’s that widespread.”
Mike Johnson is a political novice and, boy, does it show, with the House Republicans underperforming for the first time in the Trump era.”
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y.
She also compared him — unfavorably! — to former Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California whose ejection from that role cleared the way for Johnson’s ascent. “Whereas Kevin McCarthy was a political animal,” she said, “Mike Johnson is a political novice and, boy, does it show, with the House Republicans underperforming for the first time in the Trump era.”
It was one of several public volleys she threw Johnson’s way as she worked to re-insert a MAGA-coded provision in the annual defense authorization bill. The language that had been stripped out requires the FBI to notify Congress if it opens a counterintelligence investigation against a political candidate, much like the one the bureau opened against Trump back in 2016 over concerns about his campaign’s ties to Russia. When Johnson claimed that Stefanik had jumped on X before coming to him, she then followed up with another post: “Just more lies from the Speaker.”
“Elise is running for governor and frankly does not give a f— anymore about playing nice,” an unnamed House Republican told Politico. But Johnson can’t only worry about Stefanik. All of the most brutal attacks are coming from his members who, like Stefanik, already have a foot out of the door. In addition to Stefanik, there’s Rep. Chip Roy, who wants to be Texas’ next attorney general. And Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia who’s retiring because (somewhat ironically) she appears to be tired of not being able to do enough legislating. And Greene has linked that frustration to Johnson’s subservience to President Donald Trump.
Stefanik came out victorious in that policy fight, with the language being placed back into the bill by Wednesday morning, but not before some harsh words had been said from their respective supporters. The New York Times quoted a senior GOP congressional aide who believed that after Johnson had given Stefanik “office space and a budget for what the aide described as ‘a fake job and a fake title,’ he would have expected her to be more gracious.” (Stefanik was reappointed to the House leadership team in a junior position after Trump pulled the plug on her appointment to become his United Nations ambassador.)
To their credit, Johnson and Stefanik later attempted to lower the temperature. The speaker told reporters Thursday that it “doesn’t bother me” when his members get upset or frustrated. “But when there is a conflict or concern, I always ask all members to come to me, don’t go to social media.” For her part, Stefanik spoke with Punchbowl News Thursday in what she called a “de-escalatory conversation” to emphasize that the speaker was receptive to her suggestion that he be more open to listening to his members.
But the damage is done — and Stefanik won’t have to be around long for any repercussions.
But the damage is done — and Stefanik won’t have to be around long for any repercussions.
In the meantime, Johnson still must deal with a growing number of insurrections from among the rank-and-file. There’s no sign that the increase in discharge petitions, which can force legislation onto the floor without the speaker’s approval, will dissipate anytime soon. NBC News also reported a growing concern from women in the Republican caucus that their voices are being drowned out. And then there’s the reality of his two-vote majority — which, when Greene’s resignation takes effect in January, will for some stretch of time become a one-vote majority.
Johnson will have fresh reasons to feel exhausted in the coming days as he finally tees up the defense bill for a vote. Though there were still details to iron out as of Friday it’s in better shape than the health care package his team was also preparing. Politico reported that the framework for the GOP’s response was optimistically due to be released this week. If it is (and that’s still a big if) it’s hard to see how Johnson will manage to appease the centrists who are worried about spiking Obamacare premiums and the hardliners who would be fine with gutting the program entirely.
Stefanik and other Republicans who are leaving have been more than willing to set fire to the House on their way out of Washington. Johnson is trying to douse the flames with a leaky bucket. It probably won’t happen this week, but the big question is how much longer before the rising heat overtakes him.
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