Speaker Johnson pleads with Republicans to keep concerns private after tumultuous week

Washington (AP) — Speaker of the House of Representatives mike johnson He implores his fellow Republicans to stop airing their frustrations publicly and take their grievances directly to him.

“They will be upset about what happened. It’s part of the process,” Johnson told reporters on Thursday. “It doesn’t bother me. But when there is a conflict or concern, I always ask all members to come to me and not go to social media.”

They increasingly ignore him.

The cracks in the GOP conference were evident this week as a member of Johnson’s own leadership team openly accused him of lying, rank-and-file Republicans acted unilaterally to force votes, and the bill supported by leadership floundered. Everything is underlined growing concerns It is stated that the party is on the way to lose its majority next year.

“I definitely think the current leadership, and the speaker in particular, needs to change his approach to business,” GOP Rep. Kevin Kiley of California said Thursday.

Kiley, who has been a vocal critic of Johnson in the wake of the GOP’s nationwide redistricting campaign it backfired In California, he said the speaker was critical of rank-and-file Republicans, so he “should be prepared to accept any criticism that comes with the job.”

“And unfortunately I think there is ample cause for criticism,” he added.

GOP lawmakers ask: ‘Why do we have to legislate through habeas corpus petitions?’

Johnson has passed a number of his priorities, including President Donald Trump’s massive primary, by holding together his slim Republican majority in the House of Representatives in the first half of 2025. spending and tax cut plan.

But after Johnson held members are logged out They returned for nearly two months during the government shutdown, anxious to work on priorities that had been postponed for months, often faced with the reality that they might be running out of time.

The first was a high-profile habeas corpus petition to force a vote on the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Successful After reaching the 218 signature threshold. Other MPs are launching more petitions; This step was formerly seen as a major insult to the party leadership.

“The expungement petition I think always shows some frustration,” said GOP Rep. Dusty Johnson of South Dakota.

Another habeas corpus petition, on a bill that would repeal Trump’s executive order to end collective bargaining with federal employee unions, reached the signature threshold last month with the support of seven Republicans.

And this week, GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida filed her long-awaited habeas petition for a bill that would ban members of Congress from participating in elections. stock trading. In addition to Democrats, many Republicans also signed the agreement.

“It’s what happens when you’re anxious. I’m not nervous. I’m angry,” Luna wrote on social media late Thursday, responding to comments from leadership that she was overly concerned.

GOP Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina signed both Luna’s petition and the petition releasing the Epstein files. He told reporters on Thursday that he had expressed his frustrations directly to Johnson in a phone call and, in his words, “we are legislating through a deeply personal, deeply passionate letter, a petition for dismissal.”

“We have a very slim majority, but I want President Trump’s executive orders to be signed into law,” Mace said. “I want to see his agenda implemented. Why do we have to legislate through habeas corpus petitions?”

Speaker Johnson’s own leadership team is going after him

The head of the House Republican leadership is Rep. New York, who is at the center of Johnson’s request that members bring their concerns to him privately rather than on social media. Elise Stefanik.

Stefanik, angry that a provision she advocated was not included in the defense authorization bill, criticized Johnson’s claims that he was unaware of this provision as “more lies from the President.” He conducted a series of media interviews critical of Johnson; He said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that he said he was a “political novice” and that he would not be re-elected president if the vote were held today.

Johnson told reporters Thursday that he had a “great conversation” with Stefanik the night before.

“I called him and said, ‘Why don’t you come to me?'” Johnson said. “I said,” he said. “So we had an intense friendship about that.”

Asked if he apologized for calling her a liar, Johnson said: “Um, ask Elise about that.”

Illinois Rep. Mary Miller released a statement Thursday supporting Johnson, saying that while there may be differences among members, “our mission is bigger than any one person or headline.”

Democrats, who have their own criticisms of leadership, have reveled in the GOP’s turmoil. House Republican leaders attempted to introduce an NCAA-backed bill to regulate college sports after the White House cleared it before support from the Republican ranks Crumbled. Some GOP lawmakers have publicly said they have bigger priorities before the end of the year.

“It’s not that Congress can’t make laws, it’s that House Republicans can’t make laws. It’s the mob that can’t legislate properly. They continue to take the ‘my way or the highway’ approach,” said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

There is fundamental unease in the GOP about losing the House in 2026

All eyes were on Tuesday night’s special election in the US House of Representatives. Tennessee area He said a Republican wins by about 21 percentage points in 2024, and Trump holds the field by a similar margin.

Republicans hoped the contest would help them regain momentum after losing several key races across the country in November. Democrats, meanwhile, have argued that keeping the race close would signal strong political winds at their backs ahead of next year’s midterm elections, which will determine control of both chambers.

Republican Matt Van Epps finally won increased by approximately 9 percentage points.

“I think it should be a wake-up call that the district is down to nine, after being up over 20 points a year ago,” said GOP Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska.

He argued that Republicans need to “make some economic progress almost immediately,” adding that “the president and his team need to realize that tariffs do not promote economic growth.”

“I feel like they’re going to have to come out of their own bubble,” Bacon said of the White House. “Get out of your bubble. The economy needs to get better. Fix Ukraine and we need a temporary health care fix.”

Bacon is among House Republicans who have announced they will retire at the end of this term. Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene suddenly announced He said last month he would resign in January, citing multiple reasons including “the legislature has been largely sidelined this year.”

These retirements increase the GOP’s challenges in retaining the House of Representatives, as the party now must defend more open seats. Republicans also saw their redistricting battle, sparked by Trump’s pressure on Texas Republicans and then more states, backfire in part. In November, California voters approved a new congressional map, giving Democrats victory.

“If you think this redistricting fight is going to save the majority, that’s living in a fantasy world,” said Kiley, who is at risk of losing his seat after redistricting in California.

He added: “It will have a much greater impact if the Parliament plays a proactive role in putting forward legislation that really matters.”

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Associated Press reporter Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this report.