Shakespeare originally wrote “…Uneasy is the head that wears the crown”, (Henry IV, Part 2). It’s been transformed from “uneasy” to “heavy”, perhaps because of the actual weight of the St. Edwards Crown of the United Kingdom. King Charles III briefly wore it at his coronation – almost five pounds. Try it sometime: balance five pounds on your head, walk around, kneel, get up, and function. No wonder he switched to the Imperial Crown – it’s only a couple pounds of diamonds.
Rookie Speaker
Louisiana Congressman Mike Johnson is the new Speaker of the House of Representatives. He may be the least experienced Speaker since Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania became the first Speaker in 1789. Johnson is entering his seventh year in the Congress, after a long legal career defending Christian religious values. As Johnson himself said:
“I am a Christian, a husband, a father, a life-long conservative, constitutional law attorney and a small business owner in that order,” (He) told the Louisiana Baptist Message, “and I think that order is important.” (Messenger).
Johnson’s Christian faith defines his service. “My values follow the model of our Founding Fathers, I believe, and I think this is important. We were established as one nation under God. We are perilously close to forgetting that principle now – and we desperately need to return to this fundamental understanding.”(Messenger).
In his opening address as Speaker, Johnson said:
“I want to tell all my colleagues here what I told the Republicans in that room last night. I don’t believe there are any coincidences in a matter like this. I believe that scripture, the Bible is very clear. That God is the one that raises up those in authority. He raised up each of you. All of us.
And I believe that God has ordained and allowed each one of us to be brought here for this specific time. This is my belief. That I believe each one of us has a huge responsibility today to use the gifts that God has given us to serve the extraordinary people of this great American country. And they deserve it.”
Art of Compromise
We have a God fearing man as the Speaker, and there’s nothing wrong with that. We have a man who believes he is on a literal mission from God, to “return” America to Godliness. And there might be some problem with that.
Because the “art” of legislation is the “art” of compromise. No Congressman, no political party, ever gets everything they want. Much as Democrats oppose it, the United States is still building part of Trump’s “Wall”. It happened as part of a compromise; the Democrats and President Biden got so much more of what they wanted, they were willing to allow more “Wall building” as a trade-off. They even waived the environmental studies to do it, much to the dismay of local Texas environmentalists.
And the question that Mike Johnson, ordained of God (and the Republican Conference) Speaker of the House, will have to answer is this: can he compromise to govern. Because he’s not a single Congressman, who expressed his faith through his political positions on gay marriage, abortion, education, and, I guess, the Presidential election “stolen” from Donald Trump. He’s not just a junior legislator from Louisiana anymore. He is the Speaker of the House, second in line for the Presidency, and possessor of the Gavel.
Governing
Johnson has an additional obligation now – the need to govern as well as stand on principle. The House faces huge problems, issues that won’t go away and can’t wait for the election of 2024.
On November 17th, the government will run out of money to operate, unless the Congress (House and Senate) and the President agree on a budget deal of some kind. It’s that exact situation that cost Kevin McCarthy the Speakership (and John Boehner before him). Johnson must craft some deal that allows him to keep all but four of his Republican colleagues behind him, and still can pass muster with the Senate and the President. It will have to be a master effort in compromise, even from a “rookie” Speaker. Or, Johnson, like many of his predecessors, can look for a simple extension, to “kick the can” down the road for a period of time.
The President is calling for billions of dollars to support Israel, with both parties in agreement. And the President is calling for billions for Ukraine, which the MAGA-right wing of the Republican Party opposes. He’s also “sweetening” the deal for Republicans with more money for the Southern Border, and for necessary US defense spending. All of this is subject to negotiation, but must happen soon, certainly before the end of the year.
The Mission
And finally, the American people need to see a functioning House of Representatives. Even Democrats are relieved that there is finally a Speaker, finally a House that can get work done again. So Johnson must “ride the razor” of the House Republican Caucus, with its extremists fully empowered by their defeat of McCarthy and Scalise, and their final victory with Johnson. And he must do so, knowing full well that their extremism is likely to cost Republicans the majority in the 2024 elections. It’s easy to mollify the MAGA-right, much harder to keep those marginal Republicans from New York and other states that gave Republicans the House majority, in office.
Certainly Johnson will take solace in his faith as he takes on the heavy weight of governing, of leading. He thinks God has given him this mission. I hope God will help him govern: Matt Gaetz surely won’t.
