Cherry Tree Therapy for the House GOP?
For someone as smart as Gallagher, that scene on the House floor was curtains. There's little to write home to Green Bay about, except that his party ousted one speaker for another.
It's hard to see a party eating its talent young.
A rookie Speaker, Mike Johnson, R-La., is now left holding the bag of a party that can barely govern -- or keep the peace within its own raucous ranks.
Gallagher is taking a rare step, leaving the House before the next election cycle. Lawmaker Ken Buck, R-Colo., just did the same.
These voices of dissent narrow the Republican majority to one vote, come April 19, when Gallagher goes. They reflect a broad loss of faith in institutions.
How long can a House Divided stand?
Fissures within the House Republicans go beyond Gallagher and Buck.
Before spring break, in order to keep the government open and pass six spending bills (six months late), Johnson relied on Democratic votes. He did not even win over the majority of his own party, a heap of humble pie.
That's how his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., lost the speakership.
Johnson, 52, is a lawyer from Shreveport with strong evangelical Christian beliefs. He speaks of himself as a Moses figure.
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