Mike Johnson's future hangs in balance as the 'accidental speaker' marks 3 years
Three years ago today marked the end of one of the most chaotic periods in American political history.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., took control of the House of Representatives after a unanimous vote by his fellow Republicans, ending three weeks of paralysis in the federal government. His predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, had been ousted by GOP rebels in the first such rebellion against a sitting House speaker in U.S. history.
The Louisiana Republican, having served in Congress only since 2017, surprised his peers and the country with his rapid ascent to power. And since then, Johnson — who has been dubbed the "accidental speaker" by multiple parties — has made a name for himself as one of the most effective speakers the House has seen, given his razor-thin majority.
But the third anniversary of his speakership comes just over a week before an election that could see Johnson lose it all — despite his best efforts to defy history and keep the House GOP in power.
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"Over the last three years — in spite of the constant challenges governing with one of the smallest majorities in history — House Republicans have delivered landmark victories for the American people," Johnson told Fox News Digital.
"We enacted the largest tax cuts for hardworking families in U.S. history, added 1 million private sector jobs, cut $1.6 trillion in wasteful spending, secured the border, reversed outrageous Biden-era regulations, achieved the lowest violent crime rate in 126 years and the largest decline in prescription drug prices in 60 years," he said. "We created Trump accounts for every child and the first nationwide school choice program, voted to ban stock trading in Congress, passed landmark housing legislation, and so much more."
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He’s done much of that with a majority fluctuating between one and four seats, a remarkably tight margin during a tenure that Newt Gingrich called "the most challenging speakership since the Civil War."
Johnson also touted breaking fundraising records and his work "endlessly" traveling the country campaigning for other GOP candidates.
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"I remain grateful every day to my colleagues for their continued confidence as we fight together to protect our House majority. Serving as their 56th Speaker of the House is the honor of my life," he said.
In his three years, Johnson has already become one of the GOP’s most prolific fundraisers in history. He’s raised $526 million for Republicans during this election cycle alone.
The month before Election Day, Johnson campaigned in more than 40 districts across 22 states, and of his 55 endorsed candidates, 97% won their respective primaries.
But the million-dollar question is: Is it enough come Nov. 3?
House Republicans are facing significant headwinds in their quest to keep the majority. Political convention dictates that the president’s party traditionally loses control of Congress during the midterms, and President Donald Trump’s low approval numbers are expected to complicate matters for Republicans in tight races across the country.
Johnson, for his part, has remained optimistic but has tried not to give any hints about what he would do if the GOP lost.
"Heaven forbid, if we lose this majority or whatever, I don’t know what my next chapter of life is," Johnson told Fox News' Aishah Hasnie this month. "If God moves on our hearts and says we should, you know, go back to my hometown of Shreveport and start a lawn business, I’ll do that with equal fervor."
Days later he told CBS News, "I don't think it's going to happen, so I don't spend any time thinking about it ... But in the unlikely scenario where we lost the majority, I would expect my colleagues would ask me to continue leading this conference, even if we have divided government."
Whether Johnson’s fellow House Republicans even want him to stay will come down to how well Republicans do, and if they lose, how bad that loss will be.
Multiple GOP lawmakers who spoke with Fox News Digital earlier this month said they anticipated Johnson would step aside if Republicans lost the House.
If they win, however, Johnson is all but assured of keeping his job — and with Trump’s blessing.
"Speaker Mike Johnson is an example of the American Dream. As Speaker, he's continued to defy the odds with a slim House majority and pass America First bills," Trump’s campaign posted on X. "After Republicans win in November, they should re-elect Mike as Speaker quickly!"