The House has completed the most arduous items on its to-do list for the year. Now, members can focus on politics — whether that’s Republican infighting or, as Speaker Mike Johnson would prefer, messaging bills to help members win reelection.
“Ain’t a whole lot more to do,” said Texas Rep. Chip Roy, who has repeatedly criticized Johnson’s leadership decisions. “We’ve kind of messed up most of the stuff so far. You know, spent money we don’t have and funded foreign wars without securing the border. So now we’ve just got to go pass messaging bills and try to get elected, I reckon.”
Sure, lawmakers still have to consider aviation and agriculture legislation in the coming weeks, and they’re starting to debate spending bills for the next fiscal year. And, most likely, they’ll soon deal with a motion to vacate from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, even if it’s poised to fail since Democrats have said they’d help save Johnson’s speakership. But Republicans in the House think the rest of the year could be mostly smooth sailing.