Blink and you may have missed the change in leadership, but make no mistake, the MAGA movement is now ruling the roost in one chamber of Congress. Just when you thought the political circus couldn’t get more intense, step right up to witness the rise of Speaker Mike Johnson, a staunch Christian Nationalist, and Trump devotee.
Johnson’s claim to fame? He believes that the 1960s are the reason for America’s moral decline, yet he stands shoulder to shoulder with Trump – a man whose personal life isn’t exactly a poster for moral righteousness. One must ponder, how he balances his rigid biblical worldview with the pragmatic reality of politics.
His charm might win him some brownie points in the beginning. After all, a unanimous vote does mean something, right? Even the MAGA poster child, Matt Gaetz, is rooting for him, celebrating Johnson’s ascendancy as a symbol of MAGA’s triumph.
But beneath Johnson’s affable exterior lies inexperience. With zero leadership history and a background that majorly revolved around a right-wing Christian organization, it’s questionable whether he can truly unify a caucus that’s seen as notoriously unruly.
His recent chat with Fox News’s Sean Hannity painted him as a moderate. From accepting gay marriage as settled to hinting at not pushing the abortion issue in the House, it seemed like a soft-spoken Johnson was speaking, quite different from the evangelical firebrand persona we’re familiar with. And let’s not forget his puzzling stance on Putin – condemning his aggression while previously voting against funding to counteract that very aggression in Ukraine.
Johnson’s leadership will be put to the test sooner than he might like, with the budget resolution expiring soon. Sure, he wants an extension, but at what cost? If history is any indicator, any compromise he makes may not sit well with the more hard-line members of his party. After all, McCarthy’s fate was sealed by less.
So, will Johnson’s honeymoon phase be a fleeting moment, with reality crashing down before we even hit the holiday season? Given the unpredictable nature of politics, particularly with the MAGA influence, it’s a story worth watching closely.
