Mike Johnson, the new Speaker of the US House, may soon be ending his rosy period after a group of conservative Republicans warned him that he can no longer rely on their backing for legislation.

After the Louisiana legislator was elected to the House of Representatives three weeks earlier, 19 House Republicans, including 15 hardliners, voted to prevent discussion of their party’s bill to finance federal programs related to science, trade, and justice for the fiscal year 2024, which started on October 1.

Mike Johnson‘s grace period with House Republicans is probably over, as resentment and obstructionism from various factions resurface, undermining his attempts to forge unity in the party before a renewed battle over the budget.

Mike Johnson’s take in office

The Louisiana Republican, Johnson who took office in late October, avoided a catastrophe this past week by passing a short-term spending plan that will keep the government open until the beginning of January of next year.

However, in order to accomplish this, the new speaker had to rely heavily on democrats ; 95 members of his own party voted against the agreement, arguing that it did not go far enough in terms of securing the border or cutting federal spending.

Both sides’ support was crumbling, and conservatives were ready to vote against the package because it lacked an amendment they wanted to remove funds for the new FBI headquarters.

Progressives are prepared to give Johnson more time to get things right, but that time is limited, according to Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry.

The Pennsylvania Republican stated, “We expect to see tangible results to move us down the field in the right direction going forward, but we understand the situation is not of his making.”

Representative Chip Roy, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, cautioned that Johnson already had two strikes against him for advancing a spending measure that did not reduce funding and used a procedure that necessitated the support of many Democrats in order to pass the bill.

The Texas Republican told CNN, “The speaker needs to know that the swamp won.” “He’s a good man, you see. We sit down to discuss; we had a floor conversation last night. We’ll see what happens next, but I can assure you that Republican supporters are fed up with pledges to fight. We’re hoping for real change. Thus, as you may imagine, we’ll see what occurs. However, our strategy shouldn’t be taken for granted when it’s required and then put on hold.

Johnson is facing the same issues that Speaker Kevin McCarthy faced: deep divisions among Republicans over the priorities of conservatives and moderates prevent them from even coming together around their own spending bills, and that’s before the arduous process of negotiating with the Senate and White House even starts.

Member Debbie Lesko told USA TODAY that Speaker Johnson “has been thrown into one of the toughest jobs in the world – in one of the most toxic environments our country has faced in modern history.”

The bills in the House

House Republican leaders dropped their intentions to proceed with a bill to fund the departments of Justice and Commerce after conservatives and a few New York lawmakers destroyed the rule that would have allowed the package to be debated.

Additionally, they left town prior to the Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services bills being put to a vote. This happened after the leadership was forced to veto two additional expenditure bills last week due to a lack of support.

Out of the twelve yearly appropriations bills, House Republicans have passed seven so far. Every one of the remaining legislation has a different set of obstacles, with some party factions demanding certain features be added while other factions claim such requirements are sufficient to kill the law.

For the new speaker, what has transpired over the past few weeks is practically an impossible math game. After swing district Republicans rebelled over a provision that would have defunded a Washington, DC, legislation that protected employees from discrimination for their reproductive choices, leadership withdrew a plan to fund financial services and general government last week.

However, a source told CNN that more than 50 Republicans considered the clause to be crucial, making it impossible to simply pull out of the bill without cratering support.

Johnson’s Issues

New York Republican Representative Nick LaLota voted against the procedural rule on Wednesday, saying Republicans ought to start concentrating on approving budget bills that don’t waste time.

“The bill will fail, the amendments will fail, it won’t go to the Senate, and the president won’t sign it,” LaLota predicted. “We ought to get back together. Return to the kitchen and experiment with different ingredients and cooking methods to make sure that the appropriations bills, which will not only support our government but also reduce expenditure where it is needed, are done so with greater thought and not just for appearances.

Experienced appropriators have said that Johnson will need to immediately go to conference with the Senate on the bills that have passed and attempt to negotiate a way forward on the other controversial items there if Republican infighting prevents him from passing all 12 bills. Nonetheless, Johnson might be in jeopardy with House Freedom Caucus members as a result of that decision.

Rules Chairman Tom Cole, a Republican from Oklahoma, stated, “Hopefully, if they want to pass the remaining five bills, they will help us pass the remaining five bills.” We don’t have a lot of time left at the end. It is imperative that we complete these bills.

In actuality, leaders won’t have much time to come up with a solution. The yearly National Defense Authorization Act must be passed, along with the FAA bill.

Congress also needs to find a way to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act before it expires at the end of the year, and negotiate a package to send aid to Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan, and the southern border of the United States. Passing individual spending bills with a robust amendment process takes time.

January 19 is the first deadline for spending, which falls barely two weeks after Congress convenes following its holiday break. The second deadline is set for February 2, which is not too long after.

“We have postponed the determination of whether or not there will be a shutdown,” stated Utah senator Mitt Romney, a Republican.

Following three weeks of unpredictability in US politics, Republican congressman Mike Johnson, who was born in Louisiana, was selected as Speaker of the House of Representatives. Republicans argued for three weeks prior to the results being declared. With 221 members to the Democrats’ 212 in the 435-member House, the Republicans hold a narrow majority.

In an effort to get Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election victory overturned, the Republicans filed the first brief in the lawsuit. The US Supreme Court immediately rejected that reasoning, drawing harsh criticism from legal experts across the board.