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The Johnson Trust Fall

After a 10-day recess filled with the hue and cry of angry voters, Democrats are returning to a Washington where universities, law firms, and major corporations have all been muzzled. Meanwhile, Republicans are quietly navigating their own DOGE dilemmas… including how to slice trillions of dollars from the government without too many people noticing.

mike johnson
It seems both sides of the ideological spectrum on the right don’t have a lot of trust in Johnson, and that trust deficit grows with every major vote they take. Photo: Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
Leigh Ann Caldwell
March 23, 2025

This week, members of Congress will return to a very different Washington than the one they left just 10 days ago. While they were in recess, Donald Trump started dismantling the Education Department; called for the impeachment of a federal judge; negotiated a questionable first step toward a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine; and threatened to sanction any law firms that participate in legal actions against his administration. Republicans will likely ignore all of that, and get to work on finding a compromise budget framework—which will eventually include tax cuts and spending cuts—that is agreeable to both House and Senate Republicans, a process that could take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. Democrats, for their part, will be under enormous pressure to figure out how to respond to any and all of it.