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Johnson faces more resignations and further House Republican rebellions in the days ahead, ‘senior’ member warned this week
John Bowdenin Washington, D.C.Thursday 27 November 2025 19:50 GMTComments
CloseMike Johnson says having no down time is the worst part about being Speaker
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Mike Johnson described his speakership as a constant battle in a recent interview that offered a revealing look into the internal dynamics of the unruly House Republican caucus, which recently gave the president headaches over a vote to release the Jeffrey Epstein files.
The GOP speaker was interviewed by Katie Miller, wife of the architect of Donald Trump’s mass deportation strategy, Stephen Miller, who herself was formerly a close adviser to Elon Musk. Now a podcast host, Johnson and his wife, Kelly, were Miller’s guests on an episode that dropped Saturday.
During the episode, he described his work managing an often unhappy and increasingly rebellious House Republican caucus as a never-ending struggle, with new crises and fires breaking out every day.
“I haven’t had a vacation day in two years. I haven’t been off in two years, literally,” said Johnson. “Last Christmas, I was taking calls from members with their drama. It takes everything out of whomever serves in the position, and by extension, their family.”
Johnson went on to add: “You’re sort of like a firefighter, in a way. You put out fires every hour.”
open image in galleryMike Johnson described his job as speaker as constantly putting out fires within his caucus (YouTube - The Katie Miller Podcast)“Even when you think the work of the day is done and you put the phone down, it can be 11:30 at night. ‘Ring ring,’ another crisis,” Johnson described.
His wife agreed, explaining that her greatest annoyance with her husband’s position was the complete lack of downtime it provided.
Johnson added that, with the security detail he was forced to take on upon becoming speaker, he “very seldom” makes it out himself to do everyday activities in public, such as going to the grocery store or pharmacy.
His remarks about his job come at a particularly stressful time for the Republican speaker.
In July, the Department of Justice and FBI issued a joint statement that amounted to a U-turn for the Trump administration as it pertained to releasing the files and evidence gathered by federal law enforcement about the 2019 investigation of Jeffrey Epstein, which resulted in the convicted pedophile and sex trafficker dying in a Manhattan detention facility while under guard. The agencies said that no more releases would occur and that the investigation had turned up no evidence linking other powerful men with known associations with Epstein to his criminal activities.
Many Americans found this hard to believe, and it set off a firestorm on Capitol Hill as a bipartisan cohort of Democrats and a few rogue Republican members vowed to force a vote in the chamber on legislation compelling the government to cooperate and release the files publicly. They were successful earlier in November after Johnson held the chamber in recess for weeks and delayed the swearing-in of a Democratic representative, thereby postponing the vote.
That vote in Johnson’s chamber put the screws to the president, who was forced then to make another U-turn. In a Truth Social post, he came out in favor of the House bill to compel the release of the files despite threatening members who signed on to the discharge petition in public and not actually needing Congress’s permission or directive to take action on the files himself.
open image in galleryMike Johnson’s caucus created major headaches for Donald Trump over a vote to release the Epstein files (AFP via Getty Images)Johnson was possibly the biggest loser in the scenario, which played out around the margins of a government shutdown fight instigated over expiring federal subsidies for Obamacare health insurance plans. The GOP speaker is now faced with a multi-pronged crisis in his chamber: The barely-averted full scale rebellion against the president which nearly played out on the final vote on the Epstein files; the imminent resignation of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, which will push the GOP’s majority in the chamber to an even smaller number; and another brewing battle over those expiring Obamacare subsidies.
The House GOP caucus appears, at this moment, hopelessly divided over a plan which the White House was set to unveil at the beginning of this week to extend those subsidies for two years, averting monthly premium hikes totalling hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars which are set to affect millions of Americans at the end of the year when the current legislation expires. Conservatives are against the plan and remain supportive of efforts to try and repeal the Affordable Care Act, while the party’s frontline members are fearful of midterm losses turning into a Democratic-led blowout if those price hikes are allowed to hit consumers. Johnson reportedly informed the president that a majority of his members were opposed to the White House plan, forcing the administration to back off this week from the plan.
Even so, the chamber’s members are reportedly furious with Johnson and the White House as the deadline barrels down on Congress and the administration has largely failed to engage congressional Republicans to find a solution.
open image in galleryRep. Thomas Massie is one of many Republicans, reportedly a majority of Mike Johnson’s caucus, who oppose a two-year extension of Obamacare subsidies to avert premium spikes for millions of Americans (Getty Images)One House Republican described as a “senior” member of the caucus by Punchbowl’s Jake Sherman, excoriated the White House in a text to the outlet on Monday
“This entire White House team has treated ALL members like garbage. ALL. And Mike Johnson has let it happen because he wanted it to happen. That is the sentiment of nearly all — appropriators, authorizers, hawks, doves, rank and file,” wrote the senior member.
“The arrogance of this White House team is off putting to members who are run roughshod and threatened. They don’t even allow little wins like announcing small grants or even responding from agencies. Not even the high profile, the regular rank and file random members are more upset than ever. Members know they are going into the minority after the midterms,” they continued.
The member went on to predict: “More explosive early resignations are coming. It’s a tinder box. Morale has never been lower. Mike Johnson will be stripped of his gavel and they will lose the majority before this term is out.”
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