Republican Lawmaker Gives Mike Johnson Bombshell Warning

House Republicans are quietly raging at Speaker Mike Johnson, accusing him of failing to lead at a moment when voters are furious about the cost-of-living crisis and soaring healthcare premiums, CNN reports.

But the tension spilled into the open this week after one GOP lawmaker delivered a bombshell warning directly to Johnson’s face: his leadership is “slipping away,” and frustration inside the party is “boiling over.”

According to CNN, the lawmaker—whose name wasn’t revealed—told Johnson that morale among Republicans is the lowest it has been all year. “Morale has never been lower,” the member reportedly said during the private exchange.

The warning came as Republicans returned from Thanksgiving expecting the House to finally take up legislation addressing economic anxiety back home. Instead, they were told the week’s top priority would be regulating college athletics—an announcement that blindsided many members who wanted to show voters they were serious about real-world economic issues.

The timing couldn’t have been worse. President Donald Trump’s approval ratings have slipped, Democrats performed surprisingly well in key races last month, and the Republican candidate in a deep-red Tennessee special election just drastically underperformed against a progressive challenger. For many GOP members, it was yet another flashing red light.

Compounding the pressure: Republicans still don’t have a healthcare plan. Their most recent spending bill cut nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid and didn’t extend Affordable Care Act subsidies. As a result, premiums for roughly 22 million Americans are expected to skyrocket next year, with many people seeing their costs double.

Johnson insists he’s working on a plan and promised to unveil it next week, but even senior Republicans admit they have no idea what will be in it—and some fear it’s far too late to pass anything meaningful before the end of the year.

“We’re trying to get consensus on it. It’s a complicated matter,” Johnson told reporters.

Meanwhile, discontent is spreading. Several GOP lawmakers say the House has been “missing in action” as Johnson hands more decision-making power to Trump. Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, long at odds with the president, blasted Johnson as a “rubber stamp” and predicted a wave of Republican retirements if nothing changes.

“You have a lot of intelligent, hard-working people who gave up a lot to be here,” Massie said, “only to find out all they get to do is rubber-stamp whatever Donald Trump wants. You could get a monkey to do this job.”