House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) has been referring to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) as the Deputy Speaker of the House for months. Jeffries has been telling reporters and the American people that Johnson is bowing to Trump. What many people assumed was metaphorical is turning out to be literal.
Trump has joked that he is the Speaker of the House. There have even been rumors that some Republicans wanted Trump to be the Speaker of the House before he returned to the White House.
Sarah Jones talks about Trump and power:
However, NOTUS reported that Johnson has surrendered some of his power as Speaker to Trump:
But it’s not just winning votes. At times, Johnson has handed over other powers that usually rest with the speaker.
According to two sources who spoke with NOTUS, Johnson has in several instances directed members seeking to bring legislation to the floor to obtain the administration’s approval first.
“It is a total shirking of responsibilities to the White House,” another House Republican told NOTUS. “Everything has to be preordained and pre-blessed, and there’s very little that we’re able to have our own will on. We should be empowered to pass our own priorities, not just follow what the mandate of the day is.”
A senior GOP aide pushed back on the idea that relying on the president is a bad thing.
The fact that a senior House Republican aide defended this practice, which is a defense of gutting the Constitution, is a big part of the problem.