Mike Johnson Claims Historic Victory After Losing House

House Speaker Mike Johnson announced he would leave Republican leadership after guiding his party to a crushing midterm defeat, completing what GOP officials described as the most orderly disposal of a congressional majority in American history. After Democrats captured the House on November 3, Johnson told colleagues he would not seek the minority leader’s post, a decision aides said demonstrated his commitment to leaving the scene before responsibility could obtain a forwarding address. Republicans praised Johnson for converting control of the chamber into additional free time with unusual speed and discipline.

President Donald Trump credited Johnson with executing a loss that lesser speakers might have complicated with introspection. “Mike did an incredible job, maybe the greatest job anybody has ever done losing the House,” Trump said. “He took a beautiful majority, a very precious majority, and made it disappear faster than anyone believed possible. That takes real leadership, and frankly, I won it.” Johnson’s departure cleared the way for Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan to compete for command of the smoking crater. Both men offered ambitious plans to rebuild the conference by preserving every policy, grievance, slogan, donor, television booking and strategic error that produced the defeat, while changing the name on the leadership office door.

Republicans said Johnson’s resignation would protect him from tedious questions about why voters rejected the party governing them. Remaining in charge after a loss could create the misleading impression that leadership carries consequences, a theory the conference has opposed on constitutional grounds. Hakeem Jeffries was expected to become speaker, an outcome Republicans blamed on voters improperly counting their own preferences instead of the preferences assigned to them by cable news. Johnson will remain in Congress, where he can continue advancing Trump’s agenda without the exhausting burden of possessing a title associated with results. Party officials said the transition proved Republicans had listened carefully to the electorate, identified its concerns and concluded that the electorate had failed. The defeat was therefore certified as a Republican victory.

* None of the quotes in this article were spoken by an actual person. More info.