Why Mike Johnson Has to Be the Bad Guy to Succeed

Newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson will need to be the bad guy in Congress in order to be a successful Republican leader, former Speaker Newt Gingrich said.

Gingrich, who held the House gavel between 1995 and 1999, told Newsweek on Thursday that Johnson is "off to a big idea" with his first legislative move as speaker, so long as he can pull off the House GOP's push for its legislative priorities.

"You're trying to be a change agent in a city that doesn't want to change," Gingrich said. "You have to be very hard-nosed, and I say this from personal experience."

Johnson took direct aim at President Joe Biden this week after he unveiled a GOP-led bill that offsets $14.3 billion in emergency funding for Israel with a reduction in IRS funding in the same amount. That funding is part of the Inflation Reduction Act, one of Biden's landmark legislative achievements.

The move suggests that the Louisiana Republican will govern as an unflinchingly partisan leader. Biden has already threatened to veto the bill, which falls far short of his request for a nearly $106 billion national security package that contains funding for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan and security at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Despite fierce criticism from Democrats, who accused Johnson of playing political games by targeting the IRS funding, the bill passed in the lower chamber Thursday night in a 226-196 vote, with the support of a dozen Democrats. It now heads to the Senate, where it's expected to face harsh opposition from Democrats and even some Republicans who argue that Israel funding should be tied to aid to Ukraine.

But Gingrich said Johnson should continue to stick to his guns, pointing out that the Republicans' stand-alone bill forced opponents to show whether they would block funding to Israel in the midst of its war with Hamas.

"People have to negotiate, and if Johnson can get the votes, he will be in a very strong position to say, 'Look, I've passed aid to Israel. I'm not going to negotiate any details. We've done our job. You want aid for Israel, here's a bill,'" Gingrich said

He added that while there is hesitation from some Senate Republicans, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Johnson has support from younger GOP senators that could help him get the bill to Biden's desk.

In the '90s, Gingrich quickly became one of the most powerful figures in U.S. politics, playing a key role in government shutdowns and the impeachment of then-President Bill Clinton. Some historians say his attacks on political opponents escalated extreme partisanship and political polarization in Congress.

Gingrich said he was able to enjoy success as a congressional leader because he was "prepared to be very direct and very tough."

"We didn't do it by being soft and confused," he said.

The former House speaker said that while Johnson has a difficult challenge ahead of him, he believes that task will be made easier by support from the Republican Conference, which may be seeking to avoid any more embarrassment after the party struggled to unite behind a speaker candidate for 22 days last month.

"This is a very important test for Johnson," Gingrich said. "I watched [Fox News anchor] Sean Hannity's town hall with Republicans last night, and I thought overall they looked pretty positive and pretty committed. They learned a lot in that three-week bruising fight, and I think they really want to avoid going back into that kind of a mess. So I'm moderately optimistic this can all work."

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