'Hard to escape': Mike Johnson set for rough 2026 as he tackles GOP's internal 'clashes'

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is in for a rough year as he oversees in-fighting in the Republican Party, a political analyst has suggested.

Johnson will find it "hard to escape" the issues plaguing the party, with healthcare subsidies still a sore spot for the GOP. Cost-of-living crises and the ongoing release of Jeffrey Epstein's files are taking their toll on the party too, with "internally divisive clashes" making it hard for Republicans to find common ground, according to Politico's Meredith Lee Hill.

Writing of the problems Johnson faces, Hill claimed there is a "politically perilous battle" at hand which could lead to another government shutdown.

She wrote, "The House returns from the holiday recess to confront old issues that continue to bedevil Johnson — from politically perilous battle over health care and the ongoing release of the Jeffrey Epstein files to a messy intra-GOP fight over lawmakers’ stock trading and another looming government shutdown cliff."

"But Johnson will find it hard to escape internally divisive clashes as the GOP feels pressure to address the rising cost of living and otherwise firm up its standing ahead of the November midterms."

Even the more unified topics for the GOP, fraud convictions in Minnesota for instance, could prove troubling for the party. "Key moderates", Hill says, are not as keen to back the reinstatement of Elon Musk, too, with Donald Trump's administration slowly starting to alienate those in the House.

Hill wrote, "This week, House GOP leaders are planning to hold votes on a bill from Rep. Erin Houchin (R-Ind.) that would cut red tape and relax energy efficiency standards for manufactured housing as well as a measure from Rep. Russell Fry (R-S.C.) that would codify Trump’s effort to roll back a regulation instituted under former President Joe Biden limiting water flow for shower nozzles."

"But even Republican leaders’ unity-building proposals — such as highlighting the fraud convictions in Minnesota — could end up sparking fights."

"A growing number of conservatives want Trump to reinstate Elon Musk in his prior role as efficiency czar to probe reports of Medicaid fraud and other related projects. But other Republicans, especially key moderates, are cool to the idea."