No. of Recommendations: 16
Twenty House Republicans broke with Speaker Mike Johnson to help pass a Democratic-led bill Tuesday aimed at making it easier for workers to form unions, widening the divide between a bloc of pro-labor Republicans and GOP leaders.
Democrats successfully used a discharge petition to sidestep Johnson and force the vote with the help of a handful of House Republicans, including Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Nick LaLota of New York.https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/06/09/c...One of the most important advantages that comes with controlling the majority in a chamber is that you control the agenda. You get to protect your members from painful votes. You get to force the other party to
take painful votes. That's why Manchin and Sinema were so important to the Democratic party in the last Congress, for all that the progressive faction of the party loathed them.
The GOP has effectively lost this advantage in the House. Members are supporting discharge petitions with Democrats. This almost never happens, but this is the seventh one to successfully get adopted in this Congress. Democrats are taking advantage of that to force bills to the floor that leadership opposes.
Perils of a thin majority, I suppose.
