'Internal debacle': GOP lawmakers furious that Mike Johnson 'got outplayed' by Democrats [View all]

Source: Raw Story

December 19, 2025 6:58AM ET


Democrats repeatedly outmaneuvered Republican leadership and stalled the GOP agenda to close out the legislative year, and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is facing heat.

Under House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democrats shifted the congressional agenda toward their priorities while exposing fractures within the GOP majority, and the centerpiece of Democratic success was a deliberate September strategy to frame the government shutdown around healthcare rather than President Donald Trump's federal spending cuts, reported Politico.

"The party knew well that health care was a minefield for Republicans — one that many in both parties blamed for the GOP’s massive House losses in the 2018 midterms," Politico reported. "Ultimately, the shutdown ended after 43 days when a handful of Democratic senators decided the standoff had run its course," the report added. "But House Democrats strategized to keep health care center stage, with Jeffries filing a discharge petition seeking a vote on a straight three-year extension of the expiring tax credits before moderate Republicans started filing their own discharge petitions."

Although Democrats failed to secure an extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies, they achieved their broader objective: forcing Republicans to debate Democratic priorities instead of their own agenda. Johnson ultimately kept the House out of session roughly one-fifth of the year to secure the shutdown deal, inadvertently fueling GOP frustration. "I think the House as a whole has not been nearly as proactive as we should have been in recent months," complained Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA).

Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/mike-johnson-discharge-petition-1/