# The Great Ongoing Revolving Speakership of the 118th Congress {Mike Johnson is new speaker as of 2023-10-25} **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 12, 2023, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432 "2023-10-12T02:05:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 90
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/1781 "2024-04-30T16:14:38Z")
MTG doesn’t have the votes. I weep for her, of course. An interesting quote from the article: “Sometimes by faintly praising somebody, you can kind of doom them. And I haven’t seen a full-throated defense of Mike Johnson because, ultimately, Trump doesn’t like a loser. And he’s, I think he’s worried about Mike Johnson and tying his future to that. And it would be a bad move to even campaign with him,” the Kentucky Republican said. “Mike Johnson is only going to drag Trump down.” > **[Marjorie Taylor Greene struggles to find GOP support for deposing Mike Johnson](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/marjorie-taylor-greene-struggles-find-gop-support-deposing-mike-johnso-rcna149965)** > > Only two Republicans have signed onto Greene's effort to oust the House speaker, and neither would say when or if a vote is planned. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/1782 "2024-04-30T16:24:57Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Did Democrats actually just engage in good governance at the cost of scoring political points? They just scored political points with me. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/1783 "2024-04-30T16:26:57Z")
Lol. Hakeem Jeffries just sent a sly reminder that _he_ controls the single biggest block of votes, effectively making _him_ Speaker in all but name, and he just used it to kneecap MtG and her bullshit while making MJ his beyatch. Good governance _and_ an effective power play. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/1784 "2024-04-30T16:30:26Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Did Democrats actually just engage in good governance at the cost of scoring political points? Possibly. Or they may have just thrown down the gauntlet. Empty G might just be stupid enough to think she can still win, leading her to an embarrassing face-plant that everyone else saw coming a mile away. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/1785 "2024-04-30T16:42:19Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I’m curious why they announced this. Well, we don’t know what sort of understanding may or may not have been reached between Johnson and Jeffries. The House still has to pass the FY25 budget before October 1, maybe Johnson agreed to move a clean continuing resolution until after the elections. I think it’s also important politically for Democrats that they’re saying they’ll support _the motion to table_ the motion to vacate the chair – i.e. to set aside consideration of the motion to vacate. Almost all Democrats likely agree that Johnson is a bad choice for Speaker, but by supporting the motion to table they’re not directly making a judgment on whether he should be removed. > [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Which the FuCers will use against him for the next motion to vacate. I’m not sure if they can reintroduce a motion if there’s already a tabled motion. Time to break out my copy of Oleszek’s _Congressional Procedures and the Policy Process_. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/1786 "2024-04-30T17:21:11Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > An interesting quote from the article: “Sometimes by faintly praising somebody, you can kind of doom them. > … Brilliantly summarized in _Yes, Minister_: “You have to get behind someone before you can stab them in the back.” ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/1787 "2024-04-30T17:33:07Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > It lets the Freedom Caucus claim about how terrible both the Democrats and Republicans are. I fondly hope that after the upcoming election, the R’s lose bigly, and then they have the guts to throw the small minority of “Freedom Caucus” people out of the party. Just tell them to piss off and form their own whack-a-doodle party. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/1788 "2024-04-30T17:40:12Z")
I know it’s a fond hope rather than an expectation, but even if the Republican/MAGA party end up in a minority, they learned previously that their best way (well, other than flat out cheating) to maintain power was as a unanimous block of “NO” to anything. Given that, I doubt they’d dump their “teammates” no matter how much they may want to. And given the winners in the recent RNC leadership in AZ, figure the local powers are ever more moving to the radical and reactionary right. The crazies are the ones winning the hearts and minds of their base, not the ones that want to do business in the usual manner. So far, it hasn’t helped the MAGA team (more likely has HURT) on the national level, but if the _energetic_ portion of the party keeps moving in that direction… ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/1789 "2024-04-30T17:42:34Z")
A tipping point has got to be reached sometime… ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/1790 "2024-04-30T17:52:28Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > I’m not sure if they can reintroduce a motion if there’s already a tabled motion. They cannot. It kills it for the session. I was thinking more of the vote going to the floor and the motion to vacate fails. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/1791 "2024-04-30T18:10:41Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Lol. Hakeem Jeffries just sent a sly reminder that _he_ controls the single biggest block of votes, effectively making _him_ Speaker in all but name, and he just used it to kneecap MtG and her bullshit while making MJ his beyatch. > > Good governance _and_ an effective power play. This, and others, are excellent points–thanks, y’all, for helping me think this through! ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/1792 "2024-04-30T18:14:38Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > A tipping point has got to be reached sometime… ISTM that the tipping point is headed in the opposite direction if anything. MAGA will replace the classic Republicans, riding a platform of non-stop blame and grievance without even the trappings of actual governance. It’s just easier than having to give results to either the voters or to business interests. The only hope is that it results in the group being semi-useless on the national stage, but it spells nasty times for the state/local levels where the fix is in sufficiently to make them unremovable (see Texas). ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/1793 "2024-04-30T18:20:50Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > MAGA will replace the classic Republicans, riding a platform of non-stop blame and grievance without even the trappings of actual governance. It’s just easier than having to give results to either the voters or to business interests. The only hope is that it results in the group being semi-useless on the national stage, but it spells nasty times for the state/local levels where the fix is in sufficiently to make them unremovable (see Texas). I think someone on this board referred to MAGAs as RINOs\*, and I hope that usage catches on. \*Republicans In Name Only, for the acronymphobes out there ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/1794 "2024-04-30T18:22:19Z")
Aren’t demographics fighting the long-term MAGA prospects? I’ve read several articles that focus on or at least mention that dwindling rural populations (relatively speaking) and an aging base make this currently a last hurrah, if a decade or three more can be described as such. Not that they can’t do a lot of damage in the interim. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/1795 "2024-04-30T18:28:13Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > acronymphobes nitpick: acronymophobes cite: [https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/10.1148/radiology.186.2.8421770](https://pubs.rsna.org/doi/10.1148/radiology.186.2.8421770) ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/1796 "2024-04-30T18:34:37Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > > > acronymphobes > > nitpick: acronymophobes I believe “acronymphobes” is fear of beautiful women standing over you. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/1797 "2024-04-30T18:35:46Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > Aren’t demographics fighting the long-term MAGA prospects? I’ve read several articles that focus on or at least mention that dwindling rural populations (relatively speaking) and an aging base make this currently a last hurrah, if a decade or three more can be described as such. > > Not that they can’t do a lot of damage in the interim. I think that was more applicable to the old school GOP of George Bush than to the current MAGA party. As things stand, I wouldn’t make the claim that MAGA has a demographic problem. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/1798 "2024-04-30T18:46:15Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I think someone on this board referred to MAGAs as RINOs\*, and I hope that usage catches on. I disagree with whomever that was. MAGA is the inevitable manifestation of what the GOP has been since Nixon’s Southern Strategy. They’re the reddest of Republicans. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/1799 "2024-04-30T18:48:18Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > Well, we don’t know what sort of understanding may or may not have been reached between Johnson and Jeffries. I suspect that it has pretty much run its course. A short deal where everyone involved is better off. Johnson agrees to send a clean Ukraine, Israel, Gaza aid bill to the house floor and in return Jefferies agrees to provide political cover from the inevitable revolt. Otherwise Johnson wouldn’t have brought the bill forward we still have the same status quo with Johnson in power but the bill that both Johnson and Jefferies wanted doesn’t get passed. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2024, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432/1800 "2024-04-30T18:52:43Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > > [@ParallelLines](#): > > > > MAGA will replace the classic Republicans, riding a platform of non-stop blame and grievance without even the trappings of actual governance. It’s just easier than having to give results to either the voters or to business interests. The only hope is that it results in the group being semi-useless on the national stage, but it spells nasty times for the state/local levels where the fix is in sufficiently to make them unremovable (see Texas). > > I think someone on this board referred to MAGAs as RINOs\*, and I hope that usage catches on. > > \*Republicans In Name Only, for the acronymphobes out there Unfortunately, the party seems to have reached the point where it is the anti-MAGAs that are now considered the RINOs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432.md?page=89) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-revolving-speakership-of-the-118th-congress-mike-johnson-is-new-speaker-as-of-2023-10-25/991432.md?page=91)