WASHINGTON — With the leader of the GOP party the target of an unprecedented second impeachment trial, what will 2022 hold for Conservatives on Capitol Hill? In a potential sign of an impending shakeup for the party, Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio announced this week he’s not returning for the next session. He believes working across the aisle in Congress has become increasingly difficult.
“I'm not fan of this place,” said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin. “It is horribly broken. It was broken when I got here. It hasn't gotten any better. It's very unfortunate. I understand [Sen. Portman’s] frustration.”
And Sen. Johnson also has some things to consider. As the chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, he almost-regularly drew backlash from Democrats for spearheading investigations into several of then-president Donald Trump’s political rivals. But now he’s in the minority and his seat is up for grabs in 2022.
“I do believe it's important that the Republicans hold on to this senate seat,” he said. “So what I will be doing, up until that point I actually make my decision, I will still do everything I can to make sure that this seat is retained by a Republican, either me or somebody else.”
Political prospects aside for Sen. Johnson, the window for Republicans to pursue conservative legislative priorities has seemingly closed unless they are willing to make compromises. And with an expanding progressive wing in the Democrat-controlled House and a Democrat in the White House, those compromises will have to be large.
"I'll conduct myself the way I have: I try and find areas of agreement to actually accomplish something. I didn't come here to just sit on my hands,” said Sen. Johnson. “There's plenty of things that divide us. But if you can straight up areas of agreement, keeping this nation safe, making it more prosperous next year, a pretty good shot of getting things done.”