New House Speaker’s Record on Federal Employees: Hostile

Newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson’s record in Congress is brief, but long enough to create a paper trail of hostility toward federal employees and their agencies.

Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, was elected Speaker this week after three weeks of unprecedented chaos during which the House Republican majority failed repeatedly to pick a new leader after firing the old one.

In a series of proposals, votes, and remarks since arriving in Congress six years ago, Johnson has made clear his disdain for the rights and protections of frontline federal workers.

Most recently, Johnson just last month voted for a government shutdown by opposing the bipartisan continuing resolution that is keeping agencies open and employees paid through Nov. 17. To be fair, as Speaker, he has suggested he would favor another continuing resolution to give Congress more time to reach agreements on full-year funding, but it appears likely he will pursue funding levels far below those agreed to in the bipartisan debt limit deal.

Earlier this year, he spoke on the House floor in favor of legislation rolling back telework for federal employees, and falsely blamed low customer service levels at the IRS and other agencies on telework.

“We have federal employees at all these agencies who literally have not come to work. Well, we are going to end that,” Johnson said on Feb. 1, according to the Congressional Record.

Overall, on issues that matter most to NTEU members and federal employees, he has voted against NTEU’s positions 86 percent of the time.

Johnson is heavily financed and supported by Club for Growth, an anti-union, anti-government PAC, and is also a former leader of the Republican Study Committee, a prominent group of House Republicans that every year proposes a federal budget that would cripple federal agencies and slash federal pay and benefits.

Here is just a sample of what Johnson’s RSC is proposing in 2024 for federal employees:

- Slash agency budgets
- Cut your paid leave
- Fire more federal employees with a shorter and faster process
- Limit your right to appeal disciplinary actions
- Make you pay more toward retirement for fewer benefits
- Reduce or eliminate cost-of-living adjustments for FERS and CSRS retirees
- Increase your health insurance costs

Stay vigilant! Visit the NTEU Action Center to tell your members of Congress to stand up for federal employees and avoid a government shutdown. And remember, contributing to TEPAC allows you to fight back against these attacks. Click HERE to contribute today!