Meet the new boss, same as the old boss

House Republicans keep having the exact same problems.

(These men are not Members of Congress)

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Plagued by an internal revolt and relying on Democratic votes to keep the government open, a Republican House Speaker closes shop and sends members home to their districts.

It’s a chapter right out of the decline and fall of Kevin McCarthy right?

Well, yes.

It also happens to be the story of new Speaker Mike Johnson over the last few days.

Consider:

1. Over the weekend, Johnson introduced a “clean” continuing resolution — meaning it had no spending cuts or other controversial policy proposals — designed to keep the government open beyond the rapidly-approaching deadline. It passed because all but two Democrats voted for it. More than 90 Republicans — including the vast majority of the House Freedom Caucus — opposed it.

2. On Wednesday, a vote on the rule governing debate of a spending bill failed — thanks to a revolt among conservatives. To be clear, this isn’t a vote on the spending bill itself. It is a vote on the rules that would govern the debate on that piece of legislation. Rules, as a rule (ahem), should never fail on the House floor. The majority can literally dictate exactly what it wants in the rule.

3. In the immediate aftermath of the rule failing, House Republicans announced they were done with their work until after the Thanksgiving recess.