House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, is successfully navigating his historically slim House majority—a feat that former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, drew routine praise for doing with somewhat larger majorities.
Why It Matters
Leading the House Republicans was never going to be a particularly easy task. When Johnson became speaker in 2023, he inherited a deeply divided conference with an extremely narrow majority. In spite of this, he has managed to hold together his coalition, passing some key bills while avoiding a major revolt like his predecessor, former GOP Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
He scored another victory this week after the House of Representatives passed his bill to temporarily fund the government, known as a continuing resolution (CR), despite concerns from many conservatives. The bill later passed the Senate as Democratic opposition floundered.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, of New York, opted to support moving the bill forward to avoid a government shutdown. Although Democrats had deep concerns about the CR, Schumer said averting a shutdown would “minimize the harms to the American people.”
What to Know
The CR passed the House earlier this week by a 217-213 margin, with one Democrat—Representative Jared Golden of Maine—voting in its favor and one Republican—Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky—voting against it.
The legislative battle has fractured the Democratic Party, with many Democratic voters expressing outrage over the potential that enough Senate Democrats would vote in favor of the bill, which critics say would cut important programs, for it to pass.
Before it went to the Senate, Johnson had to convince skeptical Republicans, who typically aren’t a fan of CRs, to vote for the bill. The Hill reported that nearly a dozen conservative lawmakers who initially opposed the bill ultimately voted for it, delivering a victory to Johnson.
Johnson had the support of President Donald Trump, which may have helped him win over Republicans who are less than enthusiastic about the bill as the president remains influential over Republican lawmakers and voters. Trump has criticized Massie over his vote against the CR in recent days—suggesting a primary against him.
In 2024, Johnson passed a bipartisan bill to deliver foreign aid to Ukraine and Israel despite threats from some in his party to remove him from his speakership position. They did try to vacate the speakership, but Johnson narrowly survived that vote. He also went on to be reelected as the Speaker of the 119th Congress in January during the first round of voting, despite several Republicans initially expressing opposition.
Richard Groper, professor of political science at California State University, told Newsweek that Johnson has managed to do quite well at managing his conference, giving him a “B+” so far.
“He has definitely managed to stabilize a crazy Republican caucus,” he said. “I’m surprised, and I think he’s now beginning to do quite well.”
Pelosi, however, he said was “one of the best speakers” in U.S. history in terms of how she was able to “impart her vision” and “manage her members who not always were very compliant.”
“Speaker Pelosi did a great job at managing her caucus and was able to be a thorn in the side of Trump,” Groper said.
Still, he noted Johnson’s leadership is a contrast from that of Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, as the party now seems “disjointed” and less organized at opposing Trump than expected.
These CRs, Groper said, won’t be legacy-defining legislation for Johnson, and that upcoming legislative battles on issues like the final budget or the debt ceiling will be larger tests of his leadership.
Robert Y. Shapiro, a professor of political science at Columbia University, told Newsweek Johnson’s leadership has been “so far so good,” but that he still has key challenges ahead.
“It was a major accomplishment to hold the GOP members together,” he said.
Still, his handling of issues like the debt ceiling and budget has been “less impressive,” Shapiro said.
Some House Republicans are pushing a plan to extend the debt ceiling by $4 trillion over the coming months, but it’s unclear whether that measure has support in the Senate. Navigating a deal on that bill, as well as getting some of Trump’s other legislative priorities passed will be a question of Johnson’s leadership moving forward, Shapiro said.
Getting Trump priorities into law may face additional hurdles in the Senate, where most House-passed bills need to overcome the 60-vote filibuster by earning seven Democratic votes. This means that bipartisan support will be needed to get most legislation through the chamber.
He is “far from Pelosi” in terms of major accomplishments, Shapiro said.
“She had gotten through a lot of Biden’s agenda and her most brilliant work was the way she was able to get the Affordable Care Act passed under Obama—finalizing a bill when the Democrats had 60 Senate votes, and when they lost 60 that she was able make changes in the Act through a reconciliation bill which only required a Senate majority,” he said.
He said House Democrats had fewer problems keeping the caucus together on major legislation when they were in the majority.
Pelosi’s leadership spanned two decades from 2003 to 2023 and included two tenures as speaker from 2007 to 2011 and 2019 to 2023. Like Johnson, she also managed a party that was deeply divided on issues ranging from healthcare to crime to immigration.
Johnson, however, has a smaller majority than Pelosi ever had. The Republican House margin was the smallest in nearly 100 years at the outset of the 119th Congress.
The House is currently made up of 218 Republicans and 214 Democrats. After the 2018 election, Pelosi held a 235-199 majority. In 2020, that shrunk to a 222-213 margin for Democrats. Democrats had a 233-202 margin after 2006 and a 257-178 margin after 2008 elections.
Pelosi also led her party to major election victories in 2006, 2008 and 2018. Johnson has only been speaker since 2023, but House Republicans lost some ground in the 2024 elections.
During Pelosi’s first term, she notably helped pass the Affordable Care Act despite Democratic divisions, giving her a signature accomplishment. She played a key role in passing through large parts of former President Joe Biden’s agenda during her second stint as speaker.
Newsweek reached out to the offices of Johnson and Pelosi for comment via email.
What People Are Saying
Representative Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday: “Democrats unwillingness to stand up for Congress’s constitutional right to prevent Trump from unilaterally shutting down social security offices or firing veterans is craven. If we’re afraid of blame, we need to get better at persuasion—not rolling over.”
Senator John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat, posted to X on Thursday: “Shut the government down, plunge the country into chaos, risk a recession or Exchange cloture for a 30 day CR that 100% fails. The House GOP CR will then pass the Senate because it only needs 51 votes. Total theater is neither honest with constituents nor a winning argument.”
What Happens Next?
The debt ceiling will be one of the next major questions for Johnson. Whether he can continue to hold his slim majority together remains to be seen, but thus far he has surprised many of his skeptics.
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