GOP Holiday Revolt Leaves Speaker Johnson Reeling as Shutdown Deadline Looms

By Jonathan Weisman and Catie Edmondson Washington — Nov. 28, 2025

House Speaker Mike Johnson, the soft-spoken Louisiana Republican often derided by critics as “MAGA Mike” for his staunch loyalty to President Donald J. Trump, found himself uncharacteristically speechless on Thursday as a cadre of his own party’s members unleashed a blistering revolt over his handling of a protracted government shutdown. With Thanksgiving leftovers scarcely cleared from Capitol Hill kitchens, the uprising — dubbed by some as the “GOP Holiday Revolt” — erupted in a chaotic closed-door meeting, forcing Mr. Johnson to scramble for allies in a chamber already teetering on the brink of dysfunction.

The immediate trigger was Mr. Johnson’s decision to send lawmakers home for an extended holiday recess, even as the federal government hurtles toward a fresh funding cliff on Dec. 20. After a grueling 43-day shutdown that ended in late October — the longest in modern history — Republicans had pledged a sprint to avert another crisis. Instead, the House has convened for just three days since mid-November, passing little beyond a ceremonial resolution honoring veterans. Frustration boiled over when Mr. Johnson announced the recess, citing a lack of “productive business” and the need to “recharge” amid partisan gridlock.

“We came back to Washington expecting to work, not to pack our bags for the beach,” fumed Representative Jen Kiggans, Republican of Virginia, whose military-heavy district has been upended by the shutdown’s ripple effects. Ms. Kiggans, a Navy veteran, confronted Mr. Johnson directly in the meeting, pleading for a vote on a standalone bill to guarantee pay for 1.3 million active-duty troops. “My constituents aren’t getting paid, and neither are the heroes defending this country,” she said, her voice cracking with rare emotion for a typically disciplined G.O.P. lawmaker.

The revolt, which began simmering in private texts and strategy calls over the holiday weekend, quickly escalated into open defiance. At least a dozen Republicans, including moderates from swing districts and hard-line conservatives impatient with Mr. Johnson’s fealty to the White House, demanded an immediate return to session. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, a Trump confidante who has occasionally broken ranks with leadership, amplified the dissent on social media, posting a video from her Atlanta-area home: “MAGA Mike promised us a fighter, not a vacation planner. Time to drain the swamp in our own backyard — starting with this speaker’s holiday schedule.” Her post, viewed more than two million times by midday, drew rebukes from Mr. Johnson’s inner circle but cheers from the rank and file.

Mr. Johnson, 53, was elected speaker just over a year ago after three weeks of internecine warfare that ousted his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy. A former anti-abortion lawyer with deep ties to the evangelical right, he has navigated his tenure by threading the needle between Trump’s bombastic demands and the House’s razor-thin Republican majority of 220-215. But the shutdown strategy — endorsed by Mr. Trump as a cudgel against Democrats — has exposed fissures long buried under party unity. Moderates like Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Don Bacon of Nebraska argue that prolonged chaos risks electoral backlash in 2026 midterms, while fiscal hawks such as Chip Roy of Texas decry Mr. Johnson’s reluctance to attach steep spending cuts to any stopgap measure.

“There’s a growing sense that the speaker is more interested in protecting the president’s image than governing,” said one senior G.O.P. aide, speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid reprisals. “He’s stunned because he thought the holiday break would cool tempers, but it’s done the opposite. People are home with their constituents, hearing the horror stories firsthand.”

The White House, sensing vulnerability, moved swiftly to shore up Mr. Johnson’s position. In a morning call with House leaders, Mr. Trump reportedly urged restraint, warning that a speaker’s ouster would “hand the gavel to the radical left.” Yet even Mr. Trump’s intervention highlighted the bind: His recent Truth Social tirades against Senate Democrats for blocking a repeal of Affordable Care Act subsidies — a move that could leave millions uninsured — have complicated bipartisan talks on funding. “The Democrats have gone stone-cold crazy,” Mr. Trump wrote on Sunday, calling for a “nuclear option” to eliminate the filibuster. The outburst, while rallying the base, alienated centrists who see it as sabotage of Mr. Johnson’s delicate negotiations.

By afternoon, the speaker emerged from his office for a hastily arranged news conference, his usual avuncular demeanor strained. “I hear my colleagues’ concerns, and we will address them head-on,” Mr. Johnson said, flanked by loyalists like Representatives Gary Palmer of Alabama and Elise Stefanik of New York. He floated “process reforms,” including a promise to reconvene by Dec. 5 for emergency votes on military pay and disaster aid for hurricane-ravaged Florida and North Carolina. But he stopped short of committing to a full appropriations package, insisting that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer bears the blame for the impasse.

Democrats, sensing blood in the water, pounced. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York issued a statement mocking the G.O.P.’s “holiday meltdown,” while Senate Democrats whispered about conditioning any deal on protections for social programs. “This is what happens when you let one man — and his puppet speaker — run the party into the ground,” Mr. Jeffries said in a floor speech.

The revolt’s leaders, however, are a fractious bunch, united more by exasperation than ideology. Ms. Kiggans represents a purple district where shutdown fatigue could doom her re-election. Mr. Roy, a Freedom Caucus firebrand, has long chafed at Mr. Johnson’s “squishy” conservatism. And Ms. Greene, ever the provocateur, has flirted with challenging the speaker herself, though allies say she lacks the votes. “It’s not personal; it’s survival,” said Representative John Rutherford of Florida, an appropriator who joined the chorus for a return to work. “We can’t keep governing by tweet or by tantrum.”

As the sun set over the Capitol, whispers of a potential “motion to vacate” — the procedural knife that felled Mr. McCarthy — circulated among the dissidents. Mr. Johnson, in a rare candid aside to reporters, acknowledged the peril: “I’ve talked to every single one of those friends over the holidays. We’re family, and families fight — but we don’t quit.”

Yet with Christmas lights already twinkling on Pennsylvania Avenue, the question lingers: Can a speaker tethered to a twice-impeached president unify a party fracturing under the weight of its own ambitions? For Mr. Johnson, the holidays may prove less merry than menacing. In Washington, where power is as fleeting as the autumn leaves, revolt is never far from resolution — or ruin.