House Speaker Mike Johnson could already be facing some serious political headwinds going into the new year as internal strife might derail agreements on U.S. government funding, war aid to Ukraine, and border policy.
It may even lead to him losing his job.
After a bipartisan defense policy bill was passed on Thursday, despite strong objections from 73 ultra-conservatives, the House was sent home for the holidays by the Republican from Louisiana, who was elected speaker in October following the ouster of his predecessor by GOP hardliners for making deals with Democrats.
Virginia GOP Rep. Bob Good, the incoming chairman of that rebellious group, warned after the vote on the defense bill: “If we do things like what we did today, then the Freedom Caucus will absolutely be a problem.”
Since Good and his fellow Freedom Caucus members are opposed to both the expansion of controversial electronic spying and the preservation of the Pentagon’s abortion travel policy, they rejected the comprehensive measure.
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With the support of more Democrats than Republicans, the measure was able to pass the House in the end.
Just last month, Johnson managed to avoid a government shutdown by approving a short-term spending deal