Labor Day White House Costume Ball . Mike Johnson

If you didn't expect much from the back bencher from Louisiana who somehow became Speaker of the House, then you probably haven't been too disappointed by Speaker Mike Johnson.

If he were differently motivated, Mike Johnson could have served up needed change in short order (see what I did there?).

So far, under the leadership of Speaker Johnson, the Republican House majority has pushed federal legislation that seems destined to make life harder for the paycheck-to-paycheck constituents back home.

One example

Stricter (and more confusing) work requirements for Medicaid recipients are expected to cause over 200,000 Louisianans—and potentially millions nationwide—to lose health coverage over the next few years. 

The annual cost of that to the real economy of the nation is estimated at...

• lost economic output ranging from $135 billiont o $182 by 2034

• the loss of 400,000 jobs

• annual declines in state and local tax revenue of $11-12 billion due to decreased economic activity 

• a rise in uncompensated medical care that will put hospitals and clinics at high risk of layoffs, reduced quality of care, and closure — especially rural clinics and hospitals, and those that serve already vulnerable low-income communities

• $7.6 billion annual increase in medical debt burdens 

• long-term reductions in workforce productivity caused by poorer health and delayed care.

• the loss of recouped funds from adults who receive medicaid as children — currently 58 cents on the every Medicaid dollar spent on children is recouped by the government through higher future earnings and reduced later public assistance

I feel pretty confident this is not what a lot of Louisiana voters had in mind when when they voted to send Mike Johnson to run the kitchen (or didn't vote for a candidate who actually is differently motivated).

And who knows …. maybe the Speaker can yet be motivated — in the true spirit of Labor Day — to make a positive difference for the American people … which might explain his odd costume choice for the Labor Day White House Costume Ball.

Sources

1. https://www.npr.org/2025/08/28/nx-s15518040/speaker-johnson-medicaid-cuts-louisiana
2. https://www.rev.com/transcripts/mike-johnson-on-meet-the-press-60125
3. https://aflcio.org/press/releases/afl-cio-speaker-mike-johnson-does-not-stand-workers
4. https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/08/politics/house-funding-bill
5. https://nypost.com/2025/04/13/us-news/speaker-mike-johnson-pours-cold-water-on-calls-to-hike-taxes-on-the-rich-despite-president-trump-telling-gopers-hes-open-to-it/
6. https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/07/02/congress/mike-johnson-senate-house-megabill-medicaid-00436903
7. https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/25/new-house-speaker-mike-johnson-on-the-issues-00123627
8. https://mikejohnson.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID1587
9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFHwjmfPi5s
10. https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4885152-mike-johnson-economic-plan-trump-2025/
11. https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/05/20/congress/johnson-woos-the-senate-00360400
12. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12268486/
13. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2836460
14. https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2025/jun/how-medicaid-snap-cutbacks-one-big-beautiful-bill-trigger-job-losses-states
15. https://www.npr.org/sections/planet-money/2025/08/12/g-s182221/medicaid-cuts-big-beautiful-bill-uninsured
16. https://www.kuow.org/stories/speaker-johnson-slashed-medicaid-his-constituents-could-lose-health-services
17. https://research.investlouisiana.org/medicaid-unwinding/
18. https://shvs.org/medicaid-cuts-and-the-states-tracking-state-specific-estimates-of-the-impacts-of-proposed-changes/
19. https://www.kff.org/medicaid/medicaid-changes-in-house-reconciliation-bill-would-increase-costs-for-1-3-million-low-income-medicare-beneficiaries/
20. https://www.aha.org/fact-sheets/2