By
Ed Kilgore,
political columnist for Intelligencer since 2015
House Speaker Mike Johnson is probably as happy as a clam right now. The House is on an extended recess that will last at least until August 31, allowing his besieged swing-district troops to make the rounds back home and rattle the cup for donations, while safe-seat Republicans go on the MAGA event circuit. The Speaker himself is fresh from multiple legislative triumphs. In short order, he won close party-line votes to pass a stopgap-spending measure designed to preempt a government shutdown at the end of October and a huge defense authorization measure needed to keep the Pentagon humming.
Last but not least, Johnson whipped through a budget resolution setting up Reconciliation 3.0, a bill that would help pay for the Iran war, placate farmers angry about tariffs, and even give Donald Trump a sort of down payment on his precious SAVE America Act by setting up a slush fund for states willing to impose new voting restrictions. On every vote, the professional cranks of the House Freedom Caucus bitched and moaned and threatened to rebel but ultimately folded. The case that Mike Johnson is a legislative wizard rather than a hapless-but-lucky Mr. Magoo grows stronger every day.
