Mike Johnson's House schedule fuels GOP frustration, stalled agenda

Data: House Clerk; Chart: Axios VisualsHouse lawmakers barely edged out COVID-era voting days in 2025, despite being in the make-or-break year for President Trump's MAGA agenda.Why it matters: House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) lawmakers are frustrated and losing their cool, and aside from the "one big, beautiful bill," Republicans don't have much to brag about."You cannot deliberate with your colleagues if you're out somewhere else," Johnson said in March, arguing against allowing new parents to proxy vote.🛑 But Johnson kept the House out for 54 days during the government shutdown, a major contributor to the year's unusually light calendar.Johnson argued the House had "done its job" by passing a clean government funding measure. At the time, most of his conference was publicly supportive of the approach.The speaker also frequently canceled votes when internal tensions flared or legislation wasn't going his way, further shrinking days of floor action.His use of distance as a governing tool helped seal the deal on crucial votes. But it came at a cost.The other side: "Congressional Republicans executed the most ambitious and successful agenda by any Republican Congress in history," a Johnson spokesperson told Axios, pointing to the passage of the "Working Families Tax Cut," and the codification of 70 of Trump's executive orders.🔥 Between the lines: When lawmakers returned from their two-month hiatus, the agenda was filled with resolutions to punish colleagues, infighting and even a literal fire at the Capitol that some viewed as a fitting metaphor for the state of the House.Members across the spectrum are frustrated by the chamber's inaction, with many acknowledging that little has been accomplished since passing the "big, beautiful bill."That includes failing to pass any appropriations bills since the shutdown ended.It also includes letting Democrats seize the initiative on Affordable Care Act subsidies, which will expire at the end of this year, by forcing a vote in January.👀 What they're saying: Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) told Axios that Johnson "squandered" Republicans' opportunity to move their agenda while they control all of Washington."This has not exactly been the finest hour for the U.S. House of Representatives. Over the last several months, the House has been missing in action in a lot of ways," Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) said in early December.Congress has been "sidelined by Johnson under full obedience" to the White House, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said in her resignation statement.The bottom line: "There's a lot of palpable frustration, which is why I think you're seeing a lot of people retire, you're seeing a lot of people leave," Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) told Axios.