House GOP must elect Dem speaker to avoid shutdown and escape political fallout: columnist

16 January 2024

When 2024 arrived, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) entered the new year facing a variety of challenges — from a series of forthcoming special elections to avoiding a federal government shutdown.

In an article published on January 15, The New Republic's Alex Shephard stresses that Johnson finds himself caught between a rock and a hard place — and Democrats are his only hope.

On one hand, Johnson risks being ousted as speaker — the fate that former Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-California) suffered — if enough far-right members of his caucus dislike a spending agreement with Democrats. On the other hand, a government shutdown could also hurt House Republicans politically and endanger their small majority in the November election.

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"More than a year into one of the least productive Congresses in American history," Shephard laments, "it is exceedingly clear that House Republicans both have no interest in governing and are themselves ungovernable. With the possible exception of Donald Trump, there is no one within the GOP who can keep its various factions in line. There is certainly no one within the current Republican House who has the political capital to strike a deal with Democrats to fulfill Congress' most basic responsibility — keeping the government open — while retaining the necessary support from GOP members."

The journalist continues, "Given that this is an election year, shutting down the government and having another protracted period in which there is no speaker of the House — or both! — would be an exceptionally bad look for Republicans, who are, again, theoretically, making the case to voters this fall that they should be trusted to control both chambers of Congress and the White House."

Shephard goes on to humorously argue that for House Republicans, the only way out of this "repetitive, self-destructive cycle" is to replace Johnson with a Democratic speaker and "hand control of the House over to Democrats."

This "simple, elegant solution," according to Shephard, "would keep the government open and likely benefit Republicans in the long run."

"Because some within the GOP won't vote for any spending deal that doesn't contain draconian cuts, and because Democrats control the Senate and the White House, any agreement to keep the government open requires a bipartisan compromise," Shephard explains. "But compromise is anathema to many House Republicans. Rather than recognize reality — the absolute necessity of reaching across the aisle — they have embraced a fantasy: that their leader, not their slim majority, is the cause of their legislative incompetence…. So, the Republicans should unburden themselves of this responsibility, which they clearly can't uphold anyway, and just give up the gavel to Democrats and dare them to do better."

Read Alex Shephard's full article for The New Republic at this link.

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