The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Opinion The People’s House is back in business — and crazier than ever

Columnist|
November 3, 2023 at 1:03 p.m. EDT
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill on Thursday. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
6 min

So you thought the election of a new speaker might calm the chaos and fratricide among House Republicans?

Oh, my sweet summer child.

This week, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) forced a vote in the House on censuring Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) on accusations of being antisemitic. It was funny enough that Congresswoman Jewish Space Lasers herself was accusing somebody else of being antisemitic. But her censure resolution was so over the top — it accused Tlaib of “leading an insurrection” — that 23 Republicans joined all Democrats in tabling it.