The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. Thankfully, it’s a mistake House Republicans avoided by selecting Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson to serve as their speaker Friday during the 119th Congress.
After two initial holdouts changed their vote, they even got the job done during the first ballot. In doing so, House Republicans avoided re-playing the spectacle of two years earlier, when it took former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy four days and 15 rounds of voting to earn the gavel. He lost it less than a year later, done in by a parliamentary procedure known as the "motion to vacate," a concession he was forced to make with some of the same sorts of rabble-rousers who were saber-rattling about Johnson’s fate this week.
There are important lessons to be gleaned from the past that apply not just to today, but the next two years of governing and beyond.
GOP REBELS SWITCH VOTE TO JOHNSON AFTER TRUMP’S 11TH HOUR CALLS, PUSHING HIM OVER THE FINISH LINE
First, you can’t replace someone with no one. Even as doubts swirled about Johnson’s fate and future, no serious alternative ever materialized. Indeed, the three initial Republicans who were Johnson defectors during the first round of voting cast their respective ballots for Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., and Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn. Each of these three men had their names under consideration for speaker during the last two years. Each fell short.
There was no rationale or reason for their respective candidates to be any more viable this time around. A vote for each was a protest vote, not a serious alternative course of action.
MIKE JOHNSON RE-ELECTED HOUSE SPEAKER AS GOP MUTINY THREAT DISSOLVES
Second, unlike 2023, President-elect Donald Trump weighed in with his support of Johnson in the lead-up to the vote on Friday. It took three failed ballots before Trump got behind McCarthy. After endorsing Johnson earlier in the week, Trump reaffirmed his support just before the vote on Friday.
Third, and most importantly, the GOP is on the verge of controlling all three branches of government. For Republicans to get serious about delivering their campaign promises, they need a functioning House of Representatives. The lower chamber is vital to starting the lawmaking process so that bills can be signed that will endure long beyond any one presidency. Governing by executive order makes it easy for the next administration to roll back initiatives quickly, as the outgoing Biden administration will learn come January 20.
With the narrowest margin in nearly a century, passing bills out of the House is already going to be a narrow tightrope. While Trump hasn’t yet been sworn in, the clock is already ticking.
Once the president-elect takes office on January 20, it is time for action, not more posturing. Second terms are not historically kind to presidents, who are constitutionally barred from running again. The first year is critical to enacting sweeping change before the next election season starts anew.
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Having earned more than 77 million votes last November, the incoming president deserves to have a speaker of his choosing. As the president-elect reportedly said in a phone call to two of the initial holdouts, "it would be disrespectful to Americans who voted in an historic Presidential election --to have this speaker's vote go to a second or third ballot." Trump ended the phone call with, "Fellas, we have a lot to do. Let's get to it".
The GOP is on the verge of taking control of the White House once again, making the House of Representatives more than just an oppositional body focused on stopping bad ideas. Now they can focus on passing good ones.
Passing bills that extend the 2017 Trump tax cuts, getting tough on the border and unleashing American energy dominance after four long years of the extreme Biden green agenda requires a functioning House of Representatives. Finally, getting serious about tackling out-of-control federal spending and restoring common sense can only happen with a united Republican caucus.
It's early days yet, and with a two-seat majority, Speaker Johnson has his work cut out for him. Friday not only marked a positive step in the right direction, but also an ability to learn from the past.
