This is“All hard work brings a profit,” says the Book of Proverbs, “but mere talk leads only to poverty.” When House Speaker Mike Johnson told Americans that the Bible was “my worldview,” he must have forgotten that passage. In his first year as Speaker with a GOP president and Senate, Johnson has increasingly foregone the hard work of legislating, in hopes that his talk can obscure some uncomfortable truths for Republicans.
Since the House passed a short-term funding on Sept. 19, Johnson and House Republican leadership have kept their members out of Washington. Johnson and his leadership team insist that, by passing the funding bill, it’s up to Senate Democrats to end the shutdown. In addition, keeping the House out of session means Democratic Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva can’t be sworn in. And until she’s sworn in, Grijalva can’t be the 218th signature on a discharge petition forcing a vote over the release of the government’s files on deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
But as MSNBC’s Mychael Schnell reported last week, a growing number of GOP representatives are criticizing the strategy — ranging from Marjorie Taylor Greene to less conservative members like Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif. This dissent is particularly noteworthy in a caucus that has consistently stayed in lockstep with both leadership and (especially) President Trump.
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