'Shaky' House GOP leadership 'losing control': report

Speaker Mike Johnson and his leadership team reportedly are “losing control” of the House floor.

That’s according to Punchbowl News and its cofounder, Jake Sherman, who report that what was once a rare occurrence, forcing votes via discharge petitions as a way to circumvent the Speaker — which was done to release the Epstein files — is becoming more commonplace.

“At this time, I am considering signing every discharge petition – whether I support the bill or not,” she wrote. “As a duly elected Member of Congress, I believe my colleagues should have the ability to bring legislation to the floor for a vote. Every Member deserves the right to represent their district and receive a recorded vote on their bills. This is a result of House leadership blocking Members from governing.”

It’s not just the discharge petitions, however.

“Being forced to bargain for GOP support during simple procedural votes. Calls to Cabinet secretaries from the House floor to help win over members. A prolonged debate on health care with a disengaged president. Potential retirements on the horizon,” Punchbowl reported. “This is the House Republican majority with less than 11 months until the midterm elections.”

Separately, some reports say up to 39 House Republicans could be out after this Congress by retiring or seeking other offices. Reporting on “Johnson’s Career Crisis,” Puck revealed that “one estimate puts the number as high as 20 new announcements” of Republicans exiting “in the coming weeks.”

Meanwhile, Punchbowl conceded, “we won’t say that the House is in total chaos. Total chaos is when members unleash censure resolutions against each other or a trio of House Republicans publicly claim Speaker Mike Johnson has no business running the chamber. That was last week.”

But it points to the “very tenuous reality” for Johnson and his leadership team, “as they navigate the post-shutdown climate with a soon-to-be-even-thinner three vote margin.”

What’s changed?

House Republicans used to be soldiers kept in line by “fear” of President Donald Trump. But that seems to have diminished along with his approval ratings. And, GOP lawmakers “took a beating” during last month’s elections. In short, many House Republicans may be starting to put their own careers over loyalty to the party.

Punchbowl detailed “a pair of episodes this week” that “demonstrate just how shaky the House GOP leadership’s control is.”

On the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a historically bipartisan exercise, “House Republicans struggled for more than an hour” just to “pass a rule to begin debate.”

Just to flip several conservatives, the Speaker of the House “had to call Secretary of State Marco Rubio from a room off the House floor” to obtain promises.

And in another instance, some moderate House Republicans wanting to get a bill on the floor to extend the Obamacare subsidies, “dropped a discharge petition to go over Johnson’s head” after being dissatisfied with the Speaker’s answer.