U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the signing ceremony for an execituve order on mail ballots, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., March 31, 2026. REUTERS Evan Vucci
President Donald Trump has so thoroughly intimidated House Speaker Mike Johnson, he practically comes across as lazy, at least if one conservative commentator is to be believed.
“Each House speakership ends up having its own unique character—forged through a combination of successes and failures,” wrote The Bulwark's Joe Perticone on Thursday. After reviewing the problems that afflicted past House Speakers like Nancy Pelosi, Paul Ryan and Kevin McCarthy, he described Johnson as unique in his lack of productivity.
“Mike Johnson’s speakership is somewhat different from all these,” Perticone wrote. “His overriding project has been to cede whatever power and decision-making he can to the White House, and this has, in turn, given shape to an unusual legacy, one defined by impotence.”
He added, “In recent months there has been a strange spirit of bipartisanship among frustrated House members, who have relied on the previously rare tactic of discharge petitions to circumvent Johnson. The latest such bill directly pushes back on the Donald Trump administration in a policy area the MAGA movement finds particularly divisive: aid to Ukraine.”
Democrats were able to convince their Republican House colleagues to sign on to a proposal to force a floor vote on a new Ukraine aid package, but this had to happen while Johnson assumed a passive role.
“The Ukraine bill will now get a vote on the House floor,” Perticone observed. “If it passes and heads to the Senate, a much larger percentage of lawmakers should be willing to back it. But whether it receives a floor vote there is up in the air.”
He added, “It’s a remarkable moment, nonetheless. The second most powerful lawmaker in the land being reduced to the role of legislative bystander in his own chamber.”
Two Democrats confirmed these impressions to Perticone.
“I think when you’ve got a very weak speaker in Mike Johnson and a majority that he can’t govern, it’s no surprise that we’re having more discharge petitions,” Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.) told Perticone. “We don’t have the same kind tools the majority has, but we’re still gonna force votes where we can. And the fact that Mike Johnson continues to lose some Republicans who are willing to stand with us for votes that are important—it tells me he’s weak, and frankly, it tells me that Republicans in competitive, tough districts, they see the writing on the wall.”
A different Pennsylvanian echoed those views.
“I really wish these bills would just come to the floor on their own,” Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) told Perticone in December. “It shouldn’t take a discharge petition. Leadership should be putting these bills on the floor when there’s that much support for it. A discharge is really forcing rank-and-file members to take matters into their own hands.”
On some occasions, Johnson has shown a willingness to stand up to Trump. Earlier this week, he delivered what Punchbowl described as “an explicit rebuke” to the president demanding that the House pass a housing bill that recently went through the Senate.