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Mike Johnson’s Lousy Week & A Virginia Temp Check

The House speaker is on a losing streak, and a poll shows cracks in the Spanberger coalition ahead of her state's redistricting vote.

Mike Johnson
Johnson failed to secure the extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act; neither he nor Trump could convince Republicans to support a clean, 18-month extension. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Leigh Ann Caldwell
April 19, 2026

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Last week started with Rep. Tony Gonzales’s resignation—a move cheered by many on the Hill, but not one that Speaker Mike Johnson had encouraged. True, Johnson had publicly called on Gonzales to drop out of his reelection race, but he didn’t advocate for him to actually leave Congress, which proved that Johnson’s primary concern was his vote margin and naturally angered his colleagues.