Johnson and Democratic leaders announced a deal on topline spending numbers on Sunday, largely modeled after a debt limit deal that former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) struck with the White House last year.
The McCarthy deal prompted months of rebellion from hardline conservatives — but Johnson said he secured included new offsets.
“There’s incredible pressure on Speaker Johnson to step up as the highest-ranking Republican in Congress and get a deal that can pass. The last guy lost his job trying to do it,” one Senate GOP aide told The Hill, referring to McCarthy’s ouster in October after he cut a deal to temporarily fund the government.
The new Speaker, like McCarthy, has a tiny majority that seems only to be shrinking. With House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) out for cancer treatment until next month, it means losing just three GOP lawmakers on any vote forces Johnson to rely on Democratic lawmakers to pass major legislation.
There are some differences in play when it comes to Johnson and McCarthy.
While McCarthy had trust issues and damaged relations with a host of conservatives in his conference, Johnson is in more of a grace period with his members that gives him some leeway.
And unlike McCarthy, he is also working in an election year where Republicans want to avoid mistakes that would make it harder for them to hold on to and build their House majority in the fall.
Republicans are eyeing full control of Washington as their odds for picking up the Senate grow and as polls show former President Trump with an edge on President Biden.
Rep. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio), a House GOP appropriations cardinal, stressed that appropriators think a shutdown is “a bad idea.”
“When we shut down, it costs us $60 million a day,” Joyce said.
The Hill’s Emily Brooks and Al Weaver have more here.
