House Speaker Johnson Admits to Rendering the Chamber Powerless
the speaker of the House has conceded that his legislative chamber no longer holds significant influence,a outcome of intentional actions designed to diminish its power.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is pictured on the 28th day of the federal government shutdown at the Capitol. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)
“It doesn’t matter what we do in the House,” GOP Speaker Mike Johnson announced in a press conference this week. while some might potentially be tempted to acknowledge a rare moment of candor from the MAGA leader, this blunt admission reveals a troubling reality: a once-robust legislative branch has been reduced to a messaging arm for the Trump governance-a glorified Fox News set equipped with gavels.
Johnson’s statement came as he attempted to deflect criticism regarding the House’s five-week recess, falsely attributing the impasse to Senate Democrats’ refusal to pass continuing resolutions that exclude Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits. These credits are crucial for preventing substantial increases-over 100 percent for many middle-income families-in monthly insurance payments. However, Senate Republicans possess the procedural means to suspend the filibuster and pass the resolution with a simple majority. More fundamentally, the recurring cycle of last-minute spending resolutions stems from the failure of both chambers of Congress to fulfill their basic duty of approving annual spending measures through the established appropriations process. in essence, Johnson’s admission that his chamber is irrelevant is the direct result of intentional leadership decisions to ensure its ineffectiveness.
johnson’s handling of the Epstein matter represents the most egregious example of his unwavering loyalty to Trump, but it is far from isolated.His public persona, when not openly acknowledging the futility of his position, is characterized by a professed ignorance of basic facts. This tactic was on display the day after his “House? What House?” remark, when questioned about reports of ICE agents pepper-spraying a member of the clergy during protests outside a DHS detainment facility in Broadview, Illinois. Johnson implausibly claimed to have “not seen or heard” anything about the widely-covered incident. He has consistently offered the same non-response when confronted with allegations of corruption and wrongdoing linked to Trump, ranging from a Qatari jet boondoggle to a bid to extort $230 million in “damages” from the Department of Justice, to an unhinged speech before military generals, and even a disturbing birthday greeting to epstein. Political philosopher John Rawls theorized a “veil of ignorance” as a tool for evaluating just social outcomes, but johnson has adopted it as a convenient excuse for failing to remain informed about the demands of his office. His public role bears little resemblance to the legacies of pragmatic predecessors like John Boehner or Tip O’Neill; instead, he projects the image of a bobble-headed puppet in a car window, adorned with glasses and a power suit.
Were Johnson merely a buffoon, he might be a footnote in the history of House leadership, akin to his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, who operated as a compliant figurehead. Though, Johnson’s actions stem from deeply held ideological convictions, not mere political calculation. He was a key strategist in the effort to overturn the 2020 election results through a House vote and, early in his speakership, prominently displayed an Appeal to Heaven flag-a Christian nationalist symbol associated with the January 6th coup attempt-on his office door. When questioned about this choice, he defended it as a reference to the Revolutionary Era, citing his background as a constitutional lawyer and “American history buff.”
However, those with genuine expertise in the subject matter recognize that conflating governance with a grievance-fueled theology of cultural retribution, as Johnson and Trump have done, fundamentally betrays the principles of the American Revolution and the Constitution. This is simply another fabrication from what is arguably the worst House speaker in modern history-a sentiment underscored by his typical description for his lack of engagement with current events: “I’ve been really busy.”
chris Lehmann is the DC Bureau chief for The nation and a contributing editor at The baffler. he was formerly editor of The Baffler and The New Republic, and is the author, most recently, of The money Cult: Capitalism, Christianity, and the Unmaking of the American Dream (Melville House, 2016).
