House conservatives are putting Speaker Mike Johnson on notice: He has work to do if he wants to keep his job.
The Louisiana Republican is at his weakest point after he was caught between President-elect Donald Trump, Elon Musk and the right flank of his party in a bruising fight over spending that just barely averted a government shutdown.
That came at the most inopportune moment possible for Johnson, with the speakership vote exactly two weeks away. One Republican has already vowed to oppose him, and he can’t afford to lose another due to his incredibly thin majority. Several others have publicly warned they aren’t on board yet as they’ve fumed about how he handled a stopgap spending bill.
“My advice to the speaker would be: You’ve probably got some bridges to mend, spend the holidays reaching out to members and address their concerns,” said Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.). “I think he needs to work the phones.”
Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris (R-Md.) said in a statement after the spending vote that “I am now undecided on what House leadership should look like.” And Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) said that he is going to use the two-week break to “ruminate on … what’s happened since he’s taken over.” He added that he doesn’t intend to announce how he’ll vote on Jan. 3 in advance, but that the funding battle was “a disaster.”