Mike Johnson remains Speaker of the House as Republicans on X unleash their inner three-year-olds

In a stunning twist of fate, Mike Johnson has emerged from the political dumpster fire as the reelected House Speaker. Pop the champagne, because the Republican ship is still afloat, even if it’s navigated by a crew of bickering baboons!

The election of the Speaker of the House is a crucial first step in each new session of Congress. As the highest-ranking member of the House, the Speaker wields significant power, presiding over legislative proceedings, setting the agenda, and acting as a key negotiator with the Senate and the White House. This time around, the road to the gavel for Mike Johnson was fraught with political landmines. 

Normally, the election of the Speaker is a straightforward affair — with the majority party’s chosen candidate sailing through unopposed. But a few Republicans decided to throw a wrench in the works. President-elect Trump himself reportedly got on the phone to cajole the holdouts and convince these GOP dissenters. After all, he badly needs a compliant Speaker to rubber-stamp his agenda.

Meanwhile, the GOP peanut gallery is celebrating Johnson’s win like toddlers hopped up on pixie sticks, even though many Republicans aren’t exactly thrilled with him either. But apparently anything is better than a Democrat, especially a Black man like Hakeem Jeffries, who they’re now crassly trolling as “Dollar Store Obama.”

Thankfully, some sane voices pushed back against this unnecessary and racist nonsense.

These same MAGA minions, who have no problem hurling racist insults at a highly accomplished man, are now celebrating the victory of Mike Johnson, a man who has all the leadership qualities of a limp noodle. Johnson, who has consistently prioritized partisan hackery over the needs of the American people, is somehow held up as a paragon of conservative virtue by the MAGA crowd. Meanwhile, Hakeem is an NYU-educated lawyer, a leader whose integrity and intelligence put the entire Republican caucus to shame. But these MAGA mouth-breathers — all they see is the color of his skin, and suddenly, he’s reduced to nothing more than a cheap imitation of a former president.

Thanks to Republicans, Johnson now stands at the helm of the House. As Speaker, he will face a daunting set of responsibilities. He must navigate a slim majority in a polarized House while trying to advance the GOP agenda. One of Johnson’s first tests will be raising the debt ceiling to avoid a catastrophic default. Johnson will also have to wrangle his own caucus, which includes a vocal contingent of Trump loyalists who have shown a willingness to buck leadership and grind the House to a halt.

Of course, Johnson’s predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, knows all too well the perils of leading a fractious GOP majority. McCarthy was unceremoniously ousted as Speaker after a series of missteps and intra-party revolts. Let’s hope Johnson has learned from McCarthy’s mistakes. Otherwise, he may find himself suffering the same ignominious fate. Though given the chaos and backstabbing in GOP, I wouldn’t bet the farm on a long and successful tenure.