Republican disunity tests Johnson

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Recommended by Kate Turton, Newsletter Editor

Discharge petitions highlight frustration with Johnson's leadership

Residents inspect the damage to a house in Shahkot Village, Neelum Valley, Pakistani Kashmir.

US House Speaker Mike Johnson attends a press conference on Capitol Hill. December 10, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

Republicans who control the US House of Representatives are showing increasing signs of disunity over core issues like healthcare. This comes as moderates and hardliners clash with party leaders ahead of a high-stakes midterm election year that could decide the future of their slim majority and Speaker Mike Johnson's political fate.

With Congress poised to let Affordable Care Act subsidies expire, Republicans in swing districts that delivered a narrow 220-213 House Republican majority in the 2024 election are scrambling to circumvent Johnson and his leadership team.

A recent spate of discharge petitions, including one to require the release of government files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, illustrates the growing level of frustration among rank-and-file members who have been blocked from moving legislation by Johnson's leadership team or the White House.

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