House lawmakers barely edged out COVID-era voting days in 2025, despite being in the make-or-break year for President Trump's MAGA agenda.

Why it matters: House Speaker Mike Johnson's lawmakers are frustrated and losing their cool, and aside from the "one big, beautiful bill," Republicans don't have much to brag about.

• "You cannot deliberate with your colleagues if you're out somewhere else," Johnson said in March, arguing against allowing new parents to proxy vote.

🛑 But Johnson kept the House out for 54 days during the government shutdown, a major contributor to the year's unusually light calendar.

• Johnson argued the House had "done its job" by passing a clean government funding measure. At the time, most of his conference was publicly supportive of the approach.
• The speaker also frequently canceled votes when internal tensions flared or legislation wasn't going his way, further shrinking days of floor action.
• His use of distance as a governing tool helped seal the deal on crucial votes. But it came at a cost.

The other side: "Congressional Republicans executed the most ambitious and successful agenda by any Republican Congress in history," a Johnson spokesperson told us, pointing to the passage of the "Working Families Tax Cut," and the codification of 70 of Trump's executive orders.

🔥 Between the lines: When lawmakers returned from their two-month hiatus, the agenda was filled with resolutions to punish colleagues, infighting and even a literal fire at the Capitol that some viewed as a fitting metaphor for the state of the House.

• Members across the spectrum are frustrated by the chamber's inaction, with many acknowledging that little has been accomplished since passing the "big, beautiful bill."
• That includes failing to pass any appropriations bills since the shutdown ended.
• It also includes letting Democrats seize the initiative on Affordable Care Act subsidies, which will expire at the end of this year, by forcing a vote in January.

👀 What they're saying: Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) told us Johnson "squandered" Republicans' opportunity to move their agenda while they control all of Washington.

• "This has not exactly been the finest hour for the U.S. House of Representatives. Over the last several months, the House has been missing in action in a lot of ways," Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) said in early December.
• Congress has been "sidelined by Johnson under full obedience" to the White House, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said in her resignation statement.

The bottom line: "There's a lot of palpable frustration, which is why I think you're seeing a lot of people retire, you're seeing a lot of people leave," Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) told us.

— Kate Santaliz

The NRCC's formal policy is not to endorse in GOP primaries. But Trump has started backing GOP challengers.

• Trump endorsed former Maine Gov. Paul LePage yesterday in the race to succeed retiring Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine).
• He backed former Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln in his bid to unseat Rep. Adam Gray (D-Calif.).
• And he endorsed Eric Flores, a federal prosecutor, over former Rep. Mayra Flores in Texas. Mayra Flores blasted the move, writing that "President Trump first pardoned Democrat Henry Cuellar and is now endorsing a Biden DOJ appointee pretending to be MAGA."

The big picture: The White House and the NRCC have previously coordinated behind the scenes to shape GOP fields, including pushing swing-district Republicans away from their higher-office ambitions.

• Trump has so far stayed on the sidelines in the contentious GOP Senate primaries in Texas and Georgia.

What they're saying: "From secure borders to lower costs, Republicans are delivering wins for every American family — and we are just getting started," Johnson told us in a statement.

• "Working hand-in-hand with President Donald Trump and [NRCC] Chairman Richard Hudson, we are recruiting and supporting America First candidates across the country who are ready to help us defend and grow our majority and continue America's comeback."

— Kate Santaliz and Hans Nichols

"Medicare for All" is starting to fracture Democrats in Senate races, much like it did in the 2016 and 2020 presidential primaries.

Why it matters: Party leaders like Schumer want to make the midterms a referendum on affordability and health care.

• But top progressives view the 2026 primaries as a critical opportunity to remake their case for Medicare for All ahead of 2028.
• Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) told us this week that "the opportunity now is to prove aggressively that Medicare for All is right."

Zoom in: In Maine, progressive Graham Platner supports Medicare for All. Maine Gov. Janet Mills, the pick of party leaders, has called on Congress to extend expiring ACA tax credits.

• In Michigan, progressive Abdul El-Sayed has backed Medicare for All for years. Mallory McMorrow has bashed Medicare for All but supports a public option. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) wants to strengthen the ACA.
• In Minnesota, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who has the support of national progressives, is backing Medicare for All. Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) supports a public option but not Medicare for All.

The bottom line: Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) told us this week that Democrats' "next step is to stop tinkering with a broken system."

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— Stephen Neukam

— Stef Kight

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