House Speaker Mike Johnson is facing a political mauling after Rep. Jamie Raskin tore into him on MSNBC, accusing the Louisiana Republican of “surrendering” Congress to Donald Trump and declaring he would “go down in history as the worst speaker in the history of our country.”
Raskin’s blistering remarks came Friday night on All In with Chris Hayes, where the Maryland Democrat slammed Johnson for keeping the House closed for a sixth straight week while a government shutdown looms. “He has completely surrendered the legislative power of the people,” Raskin fumed. “This is the people’s representatives. And so he’s just lying down and capitulating completely to Donald Trump and whatever he wants to do. It’s a disgrace and an embarrassment.”
Host Chris Hayes noted that Johnson has now “notified that next week will also be recess,” meaning the chamber will remain shuttered for yet another week. “That’s a sixth consecutive week that he’s keeping the House out,” Hayes said. “Yeah,” Raskin shot back, shaking his head.
Johnson has defended the extended recess, arguing he wants the Senate to vote on a clean resolution to reopen the government that the Republican majority has already passed. But critics accuse him of using the shutdown as a smokescreen to stall a bipartisan discharge petition aimed at forcing the release of the Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking case files — documents that could further embarrass Trump for his past ties to the disgraced financier.
Democrats charge that the delay is deliberate, meant to protect the former president while keeping lawmakers off the floor and out of the spotlight. “We’ve got emergency conditions in the country,” Raskin said, pointing to millions of Americans at risk of losing Affordable Care Act subsidies during the standoff.
“So we say to the Republicans, no, don’t take a sixth week of paid vacation where you don’t come to Washington, you don’t come to your offices in the Rayburn Building or the Longworth Building or the Cannon Building, but you stay back home, but you’re not even meeting with your constituents because you can’t dare to face them because of the shame and the scandal of what the Republicans are doing to America right now.”
The comments instantly lit up social media, with Raskin’s “worst speaker” line echoing across political circles and cable panels. For Johnson, already struggling to contain dissent within his own party, the timing couldn’t be worse. The continuing shutdown, the stalled Epstein files petition, and accusations of bending to Trump have fed a growing sense of dysfunction in the GOP-controlled House.
The uproar adds to Johnson’s mounting troubles as frustration grows both inside and outside Washington. With polls showing public confidence in Congress sinking to new lows, even some Republicans have begun quietly questioning whether Johnson’s loyalty to Trump is costing the party credibility ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Many worry that his unwavering allegiance could alienate moderate voters and deepen divisions within the GOP. If Johnson can’t reopen the government or demonstrate independent leadership soon, his speakership may become a cautionary tale of party loyalty turned political liability.
