We can now count “keeping a poker face” among the skills Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is notably lacking, alongside “vote counting” and “swaying his own caucus.” It’s never easy for speakers from the opposition party to sit behind the president at a State of the Union address. They have to sit there knowing that the eyes of millions are upon them as a president says things that they disagree with — often strongly. But Johnson’s eye-rolling and head-shaking turned him into an instant meme across social media, his barely contained discontent providing some comic relief at an otherwise somber moment.
Johnson’s struggle to avoid rising to Biden’s bait highlights a key truth as he seeks to capitalize on a successful State of the Union. The president should keep Johnson — and the destructive caucus he leads — at the top of the list of foils he’s running against this fall. Republican control of the House of Representatives is a sickness that ought to be excised from the body politic. Johnson and the collection of clowns behind him should be put back in the minority, where they can shout all they want but won’t do so much to impede the country’s progress.
Getting tougher on the denizens of Capitol Hill will not be easy for the president. It isn’t in his nature.
Biden has no shortage of tasks as he ramps up his re-election campaign: convince voters to credit him for a strong economy and other accomplishments, remind them of everything they hated about Donald Trump, and make sure they understand just how dangerous Trump’s proposals for a second term really are. But running against the House is urgent as well.
Getting tougher on the denizens of Capitol Hill will not be easy for the president. It isn’t in his nature. Biden sees himself as a dealmaker whose personal powers of persuasion can solve almost any problem. In fairness, he did win some Republican support for the 2021 infrastructure bill and the CHIPS and Science Act. But…
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