WASHINGTON — A familiar scene has played out over and over in the U.S. House: Republicans, unable to approve federal funding legislation on their own, edge toward a risky government shutdown, until Democrats swoop in with the votes needed to prevent catastrophic disruptions.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has accomplished the seemingly unexpected, keeping his GOP majority in line to pass a bill to keep the government running, convincing even the most staunch conservatives from the Freedom Caucus to come on board.
It wasn’t just President Donald Trump’s public badgering of the lawmakers and threats of political retribution against Republicans who refused to fall in line, although his sharp warnings resonated, preventing wide dissent.
What also won over rank-and-file Republicans was what Trump is already doing through the chainsaw-wielding billionaire Elon Musk — slashing the size of federal government and firing thousands of workers through the Department of Government Efficiency — and the White House’s promise to do more.
‘‘In DOGE we trust,‘’ said Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., a longtime deficit hawk who was among those voting yes.
The result is a newly emboldened House GOP majority that, for the first time in years, is able to capture and utilize the vast power of sticking together, rather than disassembling into chaotic rounds of public infighting.
And it’s leaving the Democrats, in the minority in the House and Senate, shifting rapidly to respond.