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Mike Johnson’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

Sure, the speaker kept the government open a few more weeks, but the guy is running out of friends in a town not known for them.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) walks out of the West Wing with (from left to right) U.S. reps Mike Turner (R-AL), Mike Rogers (R-OH), and Mike McCaul (R-TX) on January 17, 2024, in Washington, D.C.
Thankfully for Johnson, unless someone huffs glue, goes rogue, and starts drafting up a motion to vacate, the Freedom Caucus currently does not seem willing to endure the messy fallout of yet another speakerless House. Photo: Samuel Corum/Getty Images
Tina Nguyen
January 19, 2024

Congratulations to you, Mr. Speaker: The government will remain open for a few more weeks, after more than 100 House Republicans joined together with Democrats to pass a stopgap spending bill ahead of tomorrow’s deadline. Alas, within the perpetually angry world of the Freedom Caucus, the champagne has not even been placed on ice, much less popped.