Mike Johnson's 'bait-and-switch' leaves 'even closest allies furious': report

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is facing a “healthy amount of anger” from House Republicans after committing what Punchbowl News described Tuesday as a “cardinal sin,” one that left many Republicans in a difficult spot.

Johnson is currently working to end the partial government shutdown, with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) having remained unfunded for 52 days as of Tuesday, the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Senate Republicans reached a deal with Democrats to end the shutdown and fund DHS – save for two federal immigration enforcement agencies – but Johnson immediately rejected that plan, guiding his members to do the same.

Last week, however, Johnson put out a statement that appeared to endorse the idea of supporting the Senate GOP’s plan to fund DHS – “the very one that the speaker dumped on,” Punchbowl News reported Tuesday – leaving some House Republicans outraged.

“What Johnson did, unintentionally his allies say, was have his House Republican Conference stick their necks out for a negotiating position that he immediately abandoned,” Punchbowl News reported in its morning newsletter.

“Even some of the GOP leadership’s closest allies say they’re furious with Johnson for what they see as a bait-and-switch tactic on the DHS bill. The Main Street Caucus’ text chain was lighting up with frustration.”

On Friday, House Republicans had a nearly three-hour conference call, during which, Punchbowl News reported, there was “plenty of bellyaching about the leadership’s strategy,” as well as “the Senate’s alleged weakness.”

As to why Johnson had initially rejected the Senate GOP’s plan to fund DHS, a recent analysis in The Washington Post suggested that it was an effort to “save his own job” and avoid the fate of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who was ousted as speaker in large part due to the House Freedom Caucus, a group of hardline far-right Republicans who likely would have been outraged to see Johnson support a plan endorsed by Democrats.