Hold onto your hats, folks—House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is floating the idea of tightening the reins on censure resolutions, a move that could curb the political knife-fights erupting on the House floor.
According to Fox News, after a bruising 43-day government shutdown starting October 1, 2025, and a wild five-day legislative week, Johnson is mulling reforms to make it harder for lawmakers to slap each other with censures, signaling frustration with the current free-for-all.
Let’s rewind: the House returned from that lengthy shutdown to a session so volatile it could’ve been scripted for reality TV.
During this chaotic week, three lawmakers pushed votes to rebuke colleagues out of five total threats, showcasing how censures—once rare slaps on the wrist for serious decorum breaches—have become the go-to weapon in today’s hyper-charged atmosphere.
Both Republicans and Democrats wielded the “privileged resolution” tool to force snap votes, turning the House into a battleground of petty grievances rather than a place for serious governance. It’s no surprise that many on the right see this as a symptom of a broader cultural decline in respect for institutions, though one must admit both sides are playing the same ugly game.
Enter Speaker Johnson, who sat down with Fox News Digital on Friday to air his concerns about this devolution of decorum.
“There is a large groundswell of bottom up consternation about that. The members are so frustrated by what this has become — and I mean across the Republican conference, and I think on the Democrat side as well,” Johnson said, per Fox News Digital.
Frustration? You bet—and it’s refreshing to hear a leader acknowledge that the House shouldn’t be a sandbox for personal vendettas, even if bipartisan whining is the soundtrack of the day.
Johnson isn’t just venting; he’s actively considering ideas from across the Republican conference to raise the bar for censure resolutions.
One floated reform would ditch the current rule allowing any lone lawmaker to launch a censure, instead requiring a small group’s agreement to move forward—a change that could filter out solo crusades fueled by spite.
“I think most of the discussion thus far, again this is coming from members, is that we should raise the threshold so that it can’t just be a one-off individual quest by someone,” Johnson noted, per Fox News Digital, hinting at a practical fix for a messy problem.
While Johnson is open to debate, he’s not rushing to lock in any specific change or commit to a full House vote on new rules, preferring a careful approach to avoid unintended consequences.
On a side note, he also squashed rumors about tampering with discharge petitions—tools that let lawmakers bypass leadership to force votes if they’ve got majority support, recently used to push a bill on Jeffrey Epstein files.
Johnson backed that bill despite privacy concerns for victims, showing he’s not afraid to stand on principle, even as he navigates this censure mess with a steady hand—a welcome contrast to the chaos-driven antics of progressive agendas that often ignore collateral damage.