The House is going on recess, but that doesn’t change the problems House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) will face when members come back to town.
The House will reconvene on Feb. 28, just three days before the March 1 spending deadline put in place by the speaker’s “laddered” plan to keep the government from shutting down.
After a disastrous week from a public relations standpoint, Johnson won’t have time to rest. Instead, he will likely be spending his time away from Washington plotting how to address three major problems waiting for him when he gets back.
1. Looming government shutdown
Johnson averted a government shutdown in January by passing a short-term continuing resolution that kicked the deadline to approve a larger spending bill to March 1. Once the House reconvenes, Johnson will have just three days to rein in his infamously unruly caucus, with threats of more revolts from hard-liner conservatives. If a spending bill or continuing resolution isn’t passed by March 1, the government will shut down, painting Republicans in a poor light in a critical election year.
Johnson placated opposition to his January CR by saying that the government would be funded through 12 separate bills for each agency, allowing members to vote on individual issues rather than having to decide on an all-encompassing omnibus. Many of these bills are likely to stir debate, and the House has just three days to get through all of these.
2. Outcry over border security
The border crisis has become perhaps the foremost political issue in the United States, with record numbers of border crossings throughout the Biden administration. Many conservatives in Congress have vowed not to support funding for foreign countries until the border is secured. This sentiment stopped a Senate bill giving dozens of billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine and Israel, with Johnson saying he would not bring it to the House floor.
Many House Republicans are prioritizing border funding above all else.
“Well, what I have been working on is how we can get some border security … on some of this stuff,” House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green told the Daily Mail.
Time isn’t on Johnson’s side when it comes to getting spending bills approved, and even if he had a longer timeline, without assurances that money for border security is included, he would still find himself short of support.
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) said he has never voted for a continuing resolution during his time in Congress. And he doesn’t plan on his record changing, saying he would “probably” reject one unless there was substantial funding for border security.
3. Questioning of leadership
Though Johnson was elected speaker to the satisfaction of most House Republicans, feelings about him have begun to sour among conservative hardliners. Some, such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), have floated the idea of vacating the speakership.
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Recent votes have reflected dissatisfaction with his leadership. Johnson was dealt an embarrassment on Feb. 6, when Johnson failed to whip votes to impeach Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, in a 216-214 vote (a second vote was successful).
This week, one House Republican described Johnson as being “in survival mode.” The embattled leader isn’t expected to break out of that mode before he comes back to work on Feb. 28.
