Discharge Petitions Are Surging. Republican Defectors Say It’s Not Mike Johnson’s Fault.

Republican House members have attempted five times under Speaker Mike Johnson’s leadership to bypass one of his biggest powers: choosing which bills should go for a vote.

Still, many of the Republicans who supported discharge petitions that force a vote say they’re not a rebuke of Johnson’s leadership.

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Republican Rep. Rob Bresnahan, who crossed the aisle to support a discharge petition forcing a House vote on restoring collective bargaining rights for federal employees in November, told NOTUS he used the procedure to advance his own district’s priorities.

Though Breshahan said the discharge petition’s popularity in 2025 is ultimately due to the House’s thin margins, he still found the maneuver a useful way to support legislation that was not backed by the majority party.

“It’s been a part of the institution, and I think there’s an appropriate way that they could be utilized,” Bresnahan said. “At the end of the day, Republicans have their own agendas, and we think independently, and we want to represent our districts.”