House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) Republican majority is not only razor-thin, but is also becoming increasingly rebellious, according to a new analysis in the Wall Street Journal.
The Journal's Kimberly A. Strassel wrote Wednesday that Johnson has effectively ceded his power to a group of "moderate extortionists" within the House Republican Conference who continuously extract concessions from him. She specifically singled out Reps. Rob Bresnahan (R-Pa.), Ryan Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and Ryan Mackenzie (R-Pa.) for "tank[ing] months of hard-fought Republican healthcare effort with one display of indignation."
Strassel observed that those four Republicans were pushing hard for an extension of expiring Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits, which would result in millions of Americans seeing their health insurance premiums spike by a significant amount without a renewal. However, when their effort proved unsuccessful, the group of moderates declined to support a Republican bill and instead threw their weight behind House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. (D-N.Y.)
"The four moderates sucked that advantage dry — and made moot the GOP sacrifice during the shutdown—when they defected last week to sign a Jeffries discharge petition that will allow House Democrats in January to pass a straight-up subsidy extension, a rival to the GOP plan," Strassel wrote.
"This is a theme of 2025," she continued. "Hard-line conservatives set the mold in January 2023, using their raw power in the GOP’s small majority to extract concessions through 15 rounds of speaker votes (and the later defenestration of Kevin McCarthy). They ultimately grew wary of the internal blowback and settled down. The moderates are proving more durable mercenaries."
Strassel also observed that moderate Republicans extracted "concession after concession" during negotiations surrounding the details of the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" this summer. She specifically noted that blue state Republicans threatened to sink President Donald Trump's signature domestic policy legislation over the state and local tax deduction (SALT) cap, which disproportionately affects homeowners in predominantly Democratic-run states like California, New Jersey and New York. And she pointed out that more Republicans are now resorting to discharge petitions as a way to end-run Johnson on getting a vote on certain legislation.
"The problem here isn’t 'moderates' per se. The GOP needs to play in districts everywhere — that’s the path to a bigger majority," she wrote. "The problem is a moderate caucus that thinks their only path to re-election is blowing the bank and wants their party to blow its reputation to give it to them."
Click here to read Strassel's full column in the Wall Street Journal (subscription required).
