House Republicans’ majority is falling apart

The head of a television network once told me that no political talk show can get higher ratings than a video of a politician stumbling and falling.

That’s still true today.

American television networks can’t take their cameras off the public stumbles and screams in the wake of the Republican Party’s increased likelihood of nominating Donald Trump for a second term as president.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) fell on his face during a live broadcast two weeks ago. called for a vote President Biden begins impeachment proceedings against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. In his rush to curry favor with the Trump extremists at the caucuses, he failed to notice: he didn’t have the votes. In their second attempt last week, they impeached Mr. Mayorkas by one vote. It was a clearly empty gesture that spoke only about their own ineptitude, not about the secretaries.

The entire Republican House caucus is currently stuck in this dysfunctional loop.

the current, nearly 20 Republicans They make it clear that they can’t take sad comedy anymore. They are moving away from a broken caucus.

The sudden announcement this month that Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Washington) is resigning adds to the evidence that the generation of center-right, George W. Bush-era conservatives is coming to an end. There is.

Next was the announcement of the resignation of House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-Tennessee).

The same pattern was evident this month when Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) announced plans to resign. Gallagher’s decision to quit was due to The Wall Street Journal’s news section explains: “It’s a blow to establishment Republicans who had hoped he would have a bigger future in politics.” The Journal’s editorial page states Gallagher was “a rare member these days who wants to do something other than promote social media brands.”

This pattern of serious Republicans leaving Congress continues with the longest-serving Republican in the House, Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas). announced At the end of last year, she decided to quit. Granger is chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee.

January, Congressman Jeff Duncan (R.S.C.) announced his retirement After serving as a member for 14 years, he became a member of the House of Representatives.

It wasn’t that long ago that Bush-era Republican heavyweights like Karl Rove were talking about “.”republican permanent majority”

But today’s Republican House is bleeding from too many falls. and, 18 Republicans in districts won by President Biden in 2020, they look like they’re bleeding a lot.Already, 18 current House Republicans went out.

The desperate state of the Republican House majority is tied to President Trump’s self-serving attitude toward far-right politics.

Ronna Romney McDaniel, chair of the Republican National Committee, is also reported to have left She has come under pressure from Trump supporters who believe he has not given enough support for the presidential election.

Trump’s loyalty test has left Republicans in each state in turmoil.

In Florida, Arizona, Michigan, and Nevada, The state Republican Party is collapsing. Amid a battle between Trump supporters and conservatives who fear his extremism will hurt Republicans who voted against him.

“We’re basically just acting as if the state party doesn’t exist.” a Michigan Republican operative told NBC..

Trump supporter Kari Lake, who lost the governor’s race and is currently considering a run for the Senate, recently threw the Arizona Republican Party into turmoil with the following comments: release a recording The state party chairman offered her a good-paying job if she passed the Senate race this cycle.

Well, Lake doesn’t trust his state party so much that he secretly recorded the party chairman offering what appeared to be bribes.

At a party in Arizona late last year. Reported to have less than $15,000 in the bank. What a perfect microcosm of the broken state of Republican politics across the country.

The most acclaimed televised example of a party falling in public comes from a news report in the House of Commons.

House Republicans, who failed to mount a red wave in the 2022 midterm elections, are shackled by far-right demands as they need every vote to maintain their majority.

When Speaker Johnson and House Republicans were embarrassed by their failed attempt to impeach Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), the Secretary of Homeland Security; made a joke: “I’ve never missed George Santos so much.” Santos was sent off. Charged with fraud.

Gaetz’s quip was a stark reminder of just how slim the Republican House majority is: 219 Republicans, 212 Democrats, and four vacancies.

Even when an immigration reform bill was introduced that was supported by the Border Patrol, the Chamber of Commerce, and the conservative editorial board of the Wall Street Journal, it was defeated by House Republicans.

Prime Minister Johnson found himself unable to follow President Trump’s example and accept a bill that would increase the number of Border Patrol agents. Funding to speed up the processing of asylum applications. It would also give the president the power to close the border in the event of a sudden increase in illegal border crossers.

House Republicans now face the possibility of failing to provide funding to vital U.S. allies, Ukraine and Israel, also due to President Trump’s opposition.

Trump is likely to be the top Republican candidate in November, and there is no rush for serious new Republicans to run for Congress. They are afraid of shackling themselves to this sinking ship.

But President Trump won’t be around forever.

Most alarming is the prospect that a post-Trump generation of Republicans will become entrenched in the party’s holdovers in Congress, particularly in the House of Representatives.

Juan Williams is a writer and political analyst for Fox News Channel.