House Speaker Mike Johnson suggests he could quit Congress for lawn business if GOP loses majority

House Speaker Mike Johnson has suggested he could walk away from Congress entirely, returning home to Louisiana to start a lawn care business, if Republicans lose their House majority in the upcoming midterm elections.

In an interview with Fox News, the Louisiana Republican was unusually frank about what he might do if the party fails to hold onto its slim margin.

"Heaven forbid, if we lose this majority or whatever, I don’t know what my next chapter of life is," Johnson said. He went on to suggest a pivot to manual labour: "If God moves on our hearts and says we should, you know, go back to my hometown of Shreveport and start a lawn business, I’ll do that with equal fervour. I mean, I just want to be of my highest and best use to God and to my country."

Why is the Republican majority under threat?

The comments offer a rare public admission of political vulnerability just weeks before the midterms on 3 November. Congressional Republicans are facing a tough political environment, with voters frustrated by rising prices for petrol and groceries, combined with President Donald Trump's low approval ratings.

Election forecasters, including Decision Desk HQ, currently favour Democrats to retake the House of Representatives.

If Johnson were to step down rather than serve as minority leader, it would trigger another leadership battle for the House Republicans. Johnson originally won the speaker's gavel in late 2023 as a compromise choice after weeks of public infighting following the ouster of Kevin McCarthy. Since then, he has spent his speakership managing a deeply fractured party and a razor-thin majority.

What happens if Republicans lose the House?

When asked by Fox News if he would run to lead the Republican minority if they lose, Johnson insisted he was confident of victory.

"I’m not going to talk about the scenario where we don’t win the House, because I am laser-focused on winning the House," he said, adding that he fully expects to be the Speaker in the next Congress.

His opponents were quick to seize on the remarks. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the New York Democrat poised to become the first Black Speaker if Democrats win, told reporters that the public would make the decision for Johnson.

"Well, he’ll ultimately have to make a decision about what comes next," Jeffries said during a press conference. "I can say that the American people are about to retire Mike Johnson and the Republican majority in the House and possibly even in the Senate."

How did Johnson's team react?

Johnson's team tried to laugh off the reaction to the interview. His spokesperson, Lance Trover, wrote on the social media platform X that the Washington chatter over the comments was "hilarious".

Trover accused critics of trying to manufacture a narrative to distract from the Speaker’s recent fundraising figures and intensive campaign travel schedule.

"Not that I believe he’d be bad at it," Trover wrote of the potential landscaping career, "but allowing it to overshadow the massive fundraising numbers announced this morning or the insane travel schedule he’s doing to keep the majority seems to be nothing short of trying to drive a contrived narrative."