On Saturday, December 21, a federal government shutdown was avoided when outgoing President Joe Biden signed into law a last-minute funding plan.

A shutdown appeared likely after some bills that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) supported failed in the U.S. House of Representatives. But a last-minute bill passed in the House with a 366-34 vote and passed 85-11 when it went to the U.S. Senate.The bill enjoyed bipartisan support in the House, where Republicans held their small majority in the 2024 election.

According to Axios' Andrew Solender, however, House Democrats are "sending an early warning signal" to Johnson that he " shouldn't count on them to rescue him again."

In an article published on December 23, Solender reports, "Johnson will have the barest of majorities next year — and he's staring down growing unrest within the Republican conference. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) has said he will vote against Johnson's reelection as speaker on January 3, with several other Republicans saying they are undecided. With a majority as narrow as 219-215, Johnson may only be able to afford to lose one vote."

Far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has repeatedly called for Johnson to be ousted as speaker. But for all their differences with Johnson, House Democrats — including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) — overwhelmingly rejected Greene's "motion to vacate" in a May 2024 vote.

But on Friday, December 20, Jeffries, according to Solender, "signaled to his members that relations with Johnson had entered a new, significantly worsened phase."A House Democrat, interviewed on condition of anonymity, told Axios, "I have thought multiple times that I would help Johnson in a tough speaker vote because he was true to his word even in hard times. That has absolutely changed now. Trust is all we have in these negotiations. I thought Johnson was truly different. He's no better than (former House Speaker Kevin) McCarthy. He's getting no help from me, and I know many of my colleagues feel the same."

Reprinted with permission from Alternet