Speaker Johnson struggles to keep control of the House floor

Source: NBC News

Dec. 4, 2025, 2:37 PM EST


WASHINGTON — Less than a year before the critical 2026 midterm elections, Speaker Mike Johnson is losing control of the House floor. The Louisiana Republican suffered a bruising defeat before Thanksgiving when Donald Trump foe, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and a trio of GOP women defied Johnson and his top lieutenants and teamed with Democrats to force a near-unanimous vote to release the Jeffrey Epstein files to the public.

Seeing Massie’s huge success in getting the Epstein bill signed into law, other Republicans are now turning to that same playbook to go over the speaker's head.

This week, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., filed a discharge petition in a bid to bypass Johnson and force a vote on a bipartisan bill that would ban members of Congress from owning or trading individual stocks. Nine other Republicans have joined Luna and signed the petition, along with six Democrats. That's a far cry from the 218 signatures needed to go around the speaker and force a floor vote. But the signatures are notable; it was once unheard of for members of the majority to use discharge petitions against their own leadership.

Moderate Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., a leader of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, is threatening to file his own discharge petition to impose “crushing” U.S. sanctions on Russia as Trump’s proposed peace deal to end the Ukraine war appears to be faltering. And he's considering another one to extend expiring Obamacare subsidies unless leaders act before the Dec. 31 deadline. “We’re not afraid to use that option,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s not a tool of the minority — it’s a tool of the rank and file.”

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/speaker-johnson-struggles-keep-control-house-floor-rcna247365