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Mike Johnson Bets He Can Rely on Democrats and Still Lead Republicans

GOP speakers used to believe they couldn’t be effective if they relied on Democratic votes to remain in power. Mike Johnson might be changing the game.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) walks through the U.S. Capitol.
House Speaker Mike Johnson is navigating the situation of relying on Democrats to keep his position. Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via AP

House Speaker Mike Johnson is in the midst of doing what other Republican leaders once thought was impossible: relying on Democrats to stay in power.

For years, GOP speakers operated under the assumption that if they ever needed Democrats to save their jobs, it would spark such a crisis of confidence within the GOP conference that their time in leadership would soon end.

Last week, Johnson got 163 Democrats to quash a motion to vacate from his right flank, more than canceling out the 11 Republicans who tried to oust him from the speakership. Now, as some of those Republicans are pointing out, Johnson essentially owes his position to Democrats — and any time he’s faced with staring down the other party, it could be a problem.