Happy Monday and welcome to another week of MAGA Mike Johnson marching in lockstep with Donald Trump by using the People’s House as a personal stage for Trump’s campaign sequel. This week, the House GOP went home for the holidays after failing to govern and instead following Trump’s marching orders by continuing their baseless impeachment sham against the president.

Here’s what MAGA Mike has gotten up to as of this Monday, but let’s be clear: If it’s a day ending in “y,” Johnson is hard at work turning the People’s House into an arm of Trump’s presidential campaign instead of delivering on the issues Americans care about. 

DNC National Press Secretary Sarafina Chitika released the following statement:

“MAGA Mike Johnson proved last week that the top and only priority for the House MAGA majority is doing Donald Trump’s bidding and wasting Americans’ time and tax dollars on a baseless impeachment probe against President Biden. Instead of working to lower costs or working to fulfill his basic responsibility to keep the government open, Johnson chose to waste the House’s legislative time with an impeachment sham that Republicans themselves have admitted is political theater to boost Trump’s campaign. We hope MAGA Mike enjoys his do-nothing holiday break at home — voters won’t forget it.”

Led by MAGA Mike, all 221 House Republicans voted for a baseless, partisan impeachment inquiry into President Biden, despite the fact that GOP lawmakers have themselves admitted that this impeachment sham is all about helping Donald Trump get reelected. 

New York Times: “House Approves Biden Impeachment Inquiry as G.O.P. Hunts for an Offense”

“Republicans are pushing forward with a formal investigation even though their yearlong scrutiny of the president and his family has turned up no evidence of high crimes or misdemeanors.”

Associated Press: “Authorizing the monthslong inquiry ensures that the impeachment investigation extends well into 2024, when Biden will be running for reelection and seems likely to be squaring off against former President Donald Trump — who was twice impeached during his time in the White House. Trump has pushed his GOP allies in Congress to move swiftly on impeaching Biden, part of his broader calls for vengeance and retribution against his political enemies.”

“The decision to hold a vote came as Speaker Mike Johnson and his team faced growing pressure to show progress in what has become a nearly yearlong probe centered around the business dealings of Biden’s family members. While their investigation has raised ethical questions, no evidence has emerged that Biden acted corruptly or accepted bribes in his current role or previous office as vice president.”

USA Today: “Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, one of Trump’s most vocal supporters in the House, has not shied away from pushing for Biden’s impeachment in part to play politics.”

“If Trump, who has been impeached twice, is the 2024 Republican nominee, Nehls said he wants to give Trump ‘a little bit of ammo to fire back’ and say Biden has also been impeached.”

The Messenger: “Former GOP House Speaker Newt Gingrich on Monday suggested moderate Republicans may go along with a new attempt to launch a presidential impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden because they could face primary threats if they don’t.”

“‘If you’re a Republican, do you really want to guarantee a primary opponent by voting against looking into [Biden]?’ Gingrich said while appearing on Fox and Friends.”

While the Democratic Senate continues to work hard to pass legislation for the American people, Johnson’s lazy decision to send the House home without making progress on must-pass legislation ensures Congress will have less than two weeks to fund key government programs come January. 

Washington Examiner: “Back in November, Congress passed a two-step continuing resolution, much to the displeasure of many members.”

“However, members were ensured at the time that this would make Congress work on appropriations bills and conference with the Senate to ensure government funding doesn’t lapse come Jan. 19 or Feb. 2. But that hasn’t been the case.”

“Since passing the two-part continuing resolution, the House has been in session for three weeks and hasn’t passed a single appropriations bill; neither has the Senate. Nor have the two agreed on a top-line number for appropriators.”

New York Times: “Never mind that the House left town without making a dent in a pile of unfinished work on spending legislation to keep the government funded and was planning to return after New Year’s, with only eight working days to avoid a partial shutdown if they fail to complete it.”

“The first House session of the 118th Congress will be remembered mainly for the unprecedented 15 roll call votes it took in January to elect a speaker who was then unceremoniously dumped 10 months later by a Republican mutiny. That left the House leaderless and unable to work for weeks.”

Washington Post: “Lawmakers and President Biden in the spring reached a deal on how much the federal government would spend in fiscal 2024, which began Oct. 1: $1.59 trillion. That agreement, the Fiscal Responsibility Act, or FRA, included an additional $69 billion in side agreements that were not written into the legislation to soften the blow of spending caps. But House Republicans, led by Speaker Mike Johnson (La.), who was not part of that negotiation, said this week they would not abide by the agreement, attempting to jettison the side deal in budget negotiations.”

Johnson regularly talks to Donald Trump and is committed to using his power in the GOP-led House to do Trump’s bidding. 

Axios: “Behind the Curtain — Another Trump 2025 edge: a compliant Congress” 

“The intrigue: We’ve learned that House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has held the gavel for seven weeks, talks regularly with Trump.”

“Johnson, who could remain party leader even if Republicans lose the House (although based on precedent, his fellow Louisianan, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, might get the job), will be more of a Trump enabler than former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Yes, McCarthy sucked up to Trump in public. But he also has been known to roll his eyes privately.”

“Pro-Trump forces have the power to oust Johnson or any leader who doesn’t do Trump’s bidding. Under the GOP’s current rules, all it takes is one Republican to force a vote on removing the speaker. Assuming margins similar to those in the current House, as few as five Republicans could join with all Democrats to oust him.” 

NBC News: “Mentors, Senate rebels and Trump officials: Meet Speaker Mike Johnson’s inner circle”

“As one of the least experienced speakers in recent history, Johnson, 51, is now relying on a cadre of trusted House allies, senators, former Trump officials and congressional leadership aides to help him navigate a perilous political landscape made more complicated by the GOP’s razor-thin majority, divided government and fresh shutdown threats.”

New reporting uncovered that Johnson’s climate denialism runs so deep, that he couldn’t be bothered to address a toxic burn pit that threatened his own family’s health near his hometown.  

Mother Jones: “Mike Johnson’s Dad Sought His Help to Stop a Toxic Burn Pit Close to Home. Johnson Refused.”

“The pair drove to Mike Johnson’s legal offices in the late morning, Gabriel recalled, and Patrick Johnson explained to his son the immediate environmental and health dangers the toxic dump posed, not only to residents in the immediate vicinity but to members of the Johnson family living in the region.”

“A denier of climate science, Mike Johnson has spoken about how his evangelical faith has shaped his political worldview. According to a broad examination of his past statements, Johnson’s anti-climate advocacy often bears the hallmarks of a Christian fundamentalism linked to creationism.”

“Mike Johnson’s views on climate change became publicly apparent in 2017, just five months into his first term in the US Congress. Asked how he felt about the climate crisis by a constituent at a rowdy town hall meeting in Shreveport, Johnson launched into a critique of climate change data, saying he had also seen ‘the data on the other side.’”

Climate denialism isn’t the only conspiracy Johnson supports. Reporting has also uncovered that Johnson has endorsed baseless conspiracy theories and homophobic slurs on his podcast and social media platforms.

CNN: “Written by Scott McKay, a local Louisiana politics blogger, the book, ‘The Revivalist Manifesto,’ gives credence to unfounded conspiracy theories often embraced by the far-right – including the ‘Pizzagate’ hoax, which falsely claimed top Democratic officials were involved in a pedophile ring, among other conspiracies.”

“Other sections of the book defend podcaster Joe Rogan from racism charges after it was revealed he used the N-word, which Rogan later apologized for. The book also disparages poor voters as ‘unsophisticated and susceptible to government dependency’ and easy to manipulate with ‘Black Lives Matter ‘defund the police’ pandering.’”

“During the podcast episode, Johnson expressed his belief in the book, stating, ‘I obviously believe in the product, or I wouldn’t have written the foreword. So I endorse the work.’”

“The book denies that carbon dioxide is linked to climate change and frequently mocks the climate crisis as ‘hysteria.’”