How 'bitter infighting' threatens GOP House majority: analysis

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's (R-Georgia) efforts to oust Rep. Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) as House speaker were rejected in a major way when lawmakers voted, 359-43, to keep him in that position. The vote came down along bipartisan lines, with the vast majority of House Democrats voting against ousting Johnson.

Yet concerns about chaos within the GOP's House majority haven't gone away.

In an article published by The Hill on May 13, reporters Caroline Vakil and Mike Lillis stress that "bitter infighting" among House Republicans remains a major threat to their small majority. And that bitterness is making its presence felt in GOP congressional primaries.

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"Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) became the latest Republican to back Rep. Bob Good's (R-Va.) primary rival, John McGuire, after Good endorsed Bacon's primary challenger Dan Frei last month," Vakil and Lillis report. "A handful of other GOP lawmakers and notable political groups have also backed McGuire."

The reporters add, "Meanwhile, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) has thrown his weight behind Brandon Herrera, who’s challenging Rep. Tony Gonzales (R) in South Texas — underscoring how deep-seated resentment is embroiling the party's already-narrow majority…. Though some member-on-member squabbling is taking place in safely red districts, it's also spilled into other corners, like Gonzales' seat, potentially putting those areas into play for Democrats this fall. "

Bacon is sounding the alarm about this Republican infighting.

The Nebraska Republican told The Hill, "If you're gonna go after me, I'm gonna come back twice as hard — as hard as I can. And I think it should be a lesson. This is not what we want to do."

Bacon continued, "I think.… it creates dysfunction. I feel like this is bad for Speaker Johnson, but there has to be a consequence to a bad behavior."