The 118th Congress is all but over. For the House, it ended in much the same way it began: With various factions within the Republican Party jostling for their priorities and for power.
Is the 119th Congress in for a repeat of those dynamics as House Speaker Mike Johnson’s gavel could be in jeopardy and President-elect Donald Trump is preparing to act on his electoral mandate by vigorously pushing a broad agenda?
The 118th Congress’ opening note was a grapple for the speaker’s gavel, which former Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., ultimately secured through a number of concessions to hard-line conservatives. It crescendoed with a vote by some of those conservatives to oust McCarthy in October 2023 after McCarthy repeatedly violated the deal.
Johnson was eventually named McCarthy’s successor, but he has not ushered in the change, whether by the speaker’s own…
