The House of Representatives is Democrats last line of defense.
It seems that in the recent elections the Republicans may eke out a 2 seat majority. That isn’t known for sure yet due to the long counting times in some Districts.
However, it seems to me that there are just enough sensible Republicans being re-elected to put the spoil to the apparent majority on the Right. Plus, the infighting and recriminations among the fanatics on the Right is very likely to continue in the new Congress, leaving them fractured and in disarray. As in the last Congress, the Right won't be able to get anything done without Democrats in support.
Also, with the Right holding such a small majority and being so fractious in their ranks, it is unlikely that the Speaker, particularly if the new Speaker is still Johnson, can pull together a Republican majority on any important issue. There will be battles over funding the government, there will be battles over authorizing Trump initiatives (any that require funding or legislative authority), there will be battles over Ukraine, Israel/Gaza, environmental law and opening Federal land to drilling and mining. Republicans are hardly of a single mind on any of these issues.
So even if the Republican end up with a 2 or 3 seat majority, they won’t be able to govern effectively. Minority Leader Jeffries will walk Mike Johnson around the House like a pet poodle.
Question. Was supporting Johnson for speaker a mistake from the Democrats? I watched the Republicans cannibalizing their own speaker and thought that supporting Johnson was horribly short sighted. Sort of an "if your enemy is defeating himself" argument. Is there something I was missing as an observer?