As the ax came down on Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday, it was Democrats who were there to block it, with the caucus uniting with the majority of GOP members to defeat Marjorie Taylor Greene’s effort to remove the speaker. It wasn’t just an act of goodwill — this was in exchange for Johnson’s successful efforts to help pass an international military aid bill last month, which is itself what drew Greene’s ire. This was a smart move.
It would have been very easy here, and perhaps electorally helpful, for Democrats to simply have stood back and let the Republicans continue to devour each other, throwing the House into further chaos and tanking any possibility for the now-dominant MAGA wing to push through its dangerous and unpopular agenda items. But doing so would also tank any possibility of other legislation making it through — not just funding for Ukraine but things as basic as keeping the government open.
The objective was not to save Johnson, but to block Greene. We understand the urge to qualify this as a stalemate or even a loss for Democrats, who still don’t control the chamber and have saved a very right-wing speaker, but he is now perhaps the weakest and most malleable speaker in congressional history.
His already slim partisan advantage keeps dropping as GOP legislators leave, and as the smoke settles on this ouster effort, it’s clear who’s left holding the cards: Hakeem Jeffries and his unified Democratic caucus. Without them, Johnson is on the chopping block, and he knows it, which is why he’s defending Jack Smith and saying Democrats aren’t enemies. That might be bare minimum stuff, but for a contemporary GOP speaker, that’s plenty.
Had Greene been successful in her efforts, who knows where things would be right now. Perhaps a beleaguered GOP moderate wing, sick of the dysfunction, would have caved and helped install an extremist like Jim Jordan, who absolutely would not shepherd through votes on foreign aid or probably anything beyond bad-faith investigations of political opponents. This is not an ideal situation, but it’s certainly a far better one than having Greene as kingmaker.
Contrary to what some GOP congressmembers seem to believe, the purpose of the legislative body is not burnishing personal brands or grandstanding, but to write, debate and approve meaningful legislation that can improve people’s lives. The never-ending circus of leadership musical chairs and unreasonable MAGA demands puts that function on ice.
Not to say we should get ahead of ourselves and praise Johnson as some sort of smooth dealmaker or bipartisan operator. Just after being saved by his Democratic colleagues, the speaker announced legislation to prohibit the already-illegal practice of federal noncitizen voting, admitting even during that same press conference that this is not a real issue. This is all in service to Donald Trump and his obsession with claiming election fraud where there is none, along with a side serving of xenophobia. Johnson knows this is a dangerous game, given Trump’s contempt for fair elections.
Democrats should make clear that their shielding comes with heavy strings attached, and work to defeat Johnson in this year’s general election, just as they should endeavor to defeat every other MAGA Republican.
