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heyOn Monday, President Donald Trump arrived in Israel to formalize a historic peace deal. Take a victory lap when he spoke to the Knesset As America’s ally celebrates the release of hostages Exactly two years after Hamas launched a deadly terrorist attack on Israel.
Trump has been openly campaigning for the Nobel Peace Prize since returning to the White House, talking up his perceived skills as a dealmaker and savvy businessman. He Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in particular was brought to heel After Netanyahu’s bombing of Qatar. He Also said that the real Nobel Peace Prize winner“I’m accepting it out of respect for you, because you really deserve it,” Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado told him.
But Trump’s focus on foreign affairs has largely come at the expense of focusing on the most serious challenge facing him right now: ending the government shutdown.
So far, Trump had only had one informal meeting with leaders in Congress before he posted a racist trope video House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in sadness Standing with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer saying no one likes Democrats because “all our woke trans bulls*** are in an AI fake.
When he later said he was talking to Democrats about health care, Democratic leaders denied this.
“Look, the president clearly has some kind of dementia,” Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) said sarcastically. Independent“So I think that’s – he’s probably talking to himself, or thinks he’s talking to a Democrat, but I honestly doubt that, in fact, he’s physically talking to a Democrat.”
Where the Trump administration has engaged in government shutdown talks, it has mostly been through Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, who has announced the cancellation of projects and Dismissal of federal employeesTrump compared him to the grim reaper in a recent Truth Social post.
That has largely left House Speaker Mike Johnson to defend himself. This month marks Johnson’s second year as speaker. He emerged amid that bitter bloodshed, ironically, after former Representative Matt Gaetz filed a motion to vacate after then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy proposed a “clean” continuation into 2023 to prevent a government shutdown.
Due to this the House remained stalled for three weeks. After unsuccessful bids for speaker by House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, firebrand Representative Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, Johnson emerged as the consensus choice.
Unlike the arrogant McCarthy, who consistently antagonized conservatives and Democrats alike, Johnson mostly cloaked himself in civility. During Joe Biden’s presidency, that meant bailing out Ukraine and working with Democrats to pass spending bills that the Freedom Caucus would spit out. He developed somewhat of a working relationship with Jeffries, which came in handy when Jeffries got Democrats to protect him when Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) tried to stage a coup against him.
Since Trump returned to the White House, Johnson has leaned on House Republicans’ almost fanatical devotion to the president. Trump convinced Republicans to make him speaker again. And, of course, Trump served as an iron fist to Johnson’s velvet glove.
But as Trump largely shunts the shutdown fight, Johnson — as well as Senate Majority Leader John Thune — increasingly find themselves on an island. Green chides him for doing nothing To fix lapses in enhanced tax credits for the Affordable Care Act Marketplace,
Additionally, Democrats have criticized him for not swearing in Adelita Grijalva, who won a special election last month to fill the congressional seat vacated by her father’s death. Johnson has also decided to keep the House out of session, meaning an immunity petition pending the release of files related to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein remains in limbo.
Johnson held firm and did not move. But over time, if he is not careful, he risks internal rebellion. And it will largely be Trump’s fault. At this point, the Republican convention’s only recourse is loyalty to Trump.
And focusing abroad at the expense of the domestic front could threaten Trump’s presidency. George HW Bush’s focus on the Gulf War and the end of the Soviet Union meant he missed the growing discontent at home, which led to his defeat against Bill Clinton.
Bush’s son George W. Bush risked his entire presidency on the War on Terror, and ignored the anger felt by Americans after Hurricane Katrina and the Great Recession. And Joe Biden’s focus on Ukraine meant he didn’t see the frustrations around his age and rising inflation.
Trump can ride to victory and lobby for the Nobel as per his wish. But if he leaves the job to Johnson, the reward for a failed presidency could be another piece of gold in the Oval Office.