In many ways, serving as a Republican member of the House of Representatives seems like a pretty cushy gig in President Donald Trump’s second term. Congress is positioned as a rubber-stamp for the administration’s policies and shield against criticism towards their MAGA allies. But the rank-and-file are reportedly bristling at a domineering White House — and starting to worry it will cost them their jobs.
The buzz kicked off with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., stunning Washington with her decision to resign from her seat in January. In her four-page announcement, the MAGA darling-turned-exile lamented that “almost one year into our majority, the legislature has been mostly sidelined” and that many of her bills that reflect Trump’s agenda have never even made it to the House floor. With Trump’s promise to primary her looming, she instead opted to step down, declaring that the loyalty she’s shown him “should be a two-way street and we should be able to vote our conscience and represent our district’s interest.”
The rank-and-file are reportedly bristling at a domineering White House — and starting to worry it will cost them their jobs.
Greene’s attack on the sclerotic pace of activity in the House isn’t unfounded. After an unprecedented 43 day-long federal shutdown, representatives returned to Washington, the city which they’d fled a full two weeks before the government even closed. While Speaker Mike Johnson had warned lawmakers to prepare to buckle in for weeks of hard work before the next shutdown deadline in January, most of the GOP’s time so far has been spent doing…not that.
The building frustration was aptly summed up in an extended quote Punchbowl News published Monday from who they referred to as a “particularly exercised senior House Republican”:
This entire White House team has treated ALL members like garbage. ALL. And Mike Johnson has let it happen because he wanted it to happen. That is the sentiment of nearly all — appropriators, authorizers, hawks, doves, rank and file. The arrogance of this White House team is off putting to members who are run roughshod and threatened. They don’t even allow little wins like announcing small grants or even responding from agencies. Not even the high profile, the regular rank and file random members are more upset than ever. Members know they are going into the minority after the midterms.
“More explosive early resignations are coming. It’s a tinder box. Morale has never been lower. Mike Johnson will be stripped of his gavel and they will lose the majority before this term is out.”
It’s an illuminating bit of venting as it showcases how evenly the anger is split between Johnson and Trump. Most of the blame has been pointed towards a White House that is highly dismissive of Congress’ importance as a co-equal branch and a president whose policy preferences can shift on a dime. But Johnson’s hesitance to do anything without Trump’s approval and the difficulty of harnessing a fractured caucus hasn’t helped the lethargic feeling on the Hill. And as Greene acidly noted, without much to show to voters beyond what was in the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill,” which was mostly tailored towards giving the wealthy tax breaks, running for re-election next year will prove difficult.
The tight leash that Johnson is trying to hold has prompted rank-and-file lawmakers to move in whatever ways they can without going through the speakership. The result has been a massive uptick in the use of discharge petitions, which can force bills to the floor, as we saw in the vote on the Epstein files after months of pushback from GOP leadership. We’ve also seen a surge in attempts from members to hold each other in contempt, using the special rules around privileged bills to swiftly try to score political points. Last week alone saw three censure resolutions reach the floor, only one of which was successful.
Punchbowl’s Jake Sherman posted on X that after the raving from a senior GOP House member quoted above went live Monday, he’d “gotten countless text messages from House Republicans agreeing with this sentiment. And saying why the hell should we stay in [C]ongress if all we’re going to do is vote on censures and be a potted plant.”
If there’s a real groundswell of consideration among them to head for the exit — rather than simply try to stay in a prestigious job stripped of responsibilities — that speaks to something deeper.
It’s a valid question — and one that could wind up shifting the balance of power in Washington. Should enough GOP members resign in mass before the midterms next year, we could see a world where Johnson (even temporarily) loses control of the House without a Republican majority to back him.
It’s also telling given that most GOP lawmakers serve in comfortably red districts where the biggest fear has been getting primaried from the right. Greene’s letter makes clear that is still a distinct possibility if a challenger can accuse an incumbent of not doing enough to further the cause. As much as I’ve personally doubted that any sense of civic duty compels many House GOP members, if there’s a real groundswell of consideration among them to head for the exit — rather than simply try to stay in a prestigious job stripped of responsibilities — that speaks to something deeper.
The healthiest thing for the country would be for Johnson to use this moment of discontent to reclaim some of the power that Congress has let shift down Pennsylvania Avenue over the years. It can’t be good for morale when the only substantive business that’s taking place is writing the annual funding bills needed to keep the government running, not when the president has claimed the power to ignore any spending he doesn’t personally like. But what we’re more likely to see is Johnson attempting to cling even more firmly to the reins. Already he and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., have floated changing the House’s rules to make discharge petitions and other privileged business further out of reach.
It’s clear that the GOP is already beginning to consider what the party will look like once Trump is no longer in the White House. What evolution it undergoes is still very much up in the air and the frustrations Greene shared will likely help shape that future. For now though, I’m oddly heartened that so many lawmakers are bristling at a world where “U.S. Representative” is destined to be a sinecure position under a monarchical White House.
Hayes Brown is a writer and editor for MS NOW Daily.