Mike Johnson and GOP Election Losses: Government-Funding Deal Shows the Problem with Losing Elections

Back in May of last year, congressional Republicans executed a coup. Despite the GOP’s paltry House majority and the political pressures imposed on them by a hostile press, House Republicans led by then-speaker Kevin McCarthy leveraged a debt-ceiling hike to secure concessions that few thought possible from the Democrat-led Senate and President Joe Biden.

The product of those negotiations, the Fiscal Responsibility Act, established federal spending caps, reclaimed $27 billion in unspent Covid-relief funds from federal agencies, and imposed work requirements on those benefiting from certain social-welfare programs. The law, which went into effect on October 1, 2023, placed a $1.59 trillion ceiling on how much the federal government could spend in fiscal year 2024. But some conservatives objected anyway.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.

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Back in May of last year, congressional Republicans executed a coup. Despite the GOP’s paltry House majority and the political pressures imposed on them by a hostile press, House Republicans led by then-speaker Kevin McCarthy leveraged a debt-ceiling hike to secure concessions that few thought possible from the Democrat-led Senate and President Joe Biden.

The product of those negotiations, the Fiscal Responsibility Act, established federal spending caps, reclaimed $27 billion in unspent Covid-relief funds from federal agencies, and imposed work requirements on those benefiting from certain social-welfare programs. The law, which went into effect on October 1, 2023, placed a $1.59 trillion ceiling on how much the federal government could spend in fiscal year 2024. But some conservatives objected anyway.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.