Speaker vote an ‘ominous sign’ that Trump’s MAGA agenda could face trouble: columnist

When Donald Trump returns to the White House in a matter of days, he will complete a rare GOP trifecta of the federal government, but his legislative agenda still faces tough obstacles in Congress, according to the Atlantic’s Russell Berman.

Taking into consideration the slugfest House Speaker Mike Johnson faced before narrowly retaining the speaker’s gavel Friday, Berman told readers that the vote “was a bad sign” for the future of Trump’s political priorities.

“Even with today’s relatively swift resolution, Johnson’s struggle to remain speaker is an ominous sign for the GOP’s ability to enact Trump’s priorities in the first few months of his term,” Berman wrote Friday, noting that the House’s GOP majority will shrink once two of Trump’s cabinet picks are confirmed and create vacancies until a special election replaces them.

“And GOP divisions have already emerged over whether the party should launch its governing trifecta with a push to bolster the southern border or combine that effort with legislation extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts,” he added.

Berman argued in his opinion piece Friday that the success of Trump’s legislative agenda hinges on whether Republicans in Congress can unify. But, he pointed out: “They nearly failed on their very first vote.”

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“The effort he expended to keep the speaker’s gavel portends a tough slog for Trump, who endorsed Johnson’s bid,” Berman wrote. He added that Trump was “more politically invested in Johnson’s success” than he was two years ago when former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy faced a marathon 15-round vote before he emerged as speaker.

But, as Berman noted, the infighting in the Republican caucus is just beginning to take shape. He wrote that after the vote, critics of Johnson “made clear that the divisions on display today hadn’t been fully resolved,” and complained that he was “too quick” to strike deals with Democratic lawmakers.

And he offered one more bright spot for Democrats. The “brief revolt” during today’s floor vote, Berman said, “offered a reminder of how much leverage Democrats might retain in Trump’s Washington."

“If today’s struggle was any indication, the reelected Republican speaker, along with the reelected Republican president, might be relying on Democrats more than they’d like,” Berman concluded.