House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) lamented on May 3 that a vacancy were he to be stripped of the gavel, would be a “dangerous gambit” ahead of an expected vote next week on a motion to oust him from his leadership role.
He issued the warning when appearing on “The Laura Coates Show” on SiriusXM, guest hosted by Republican strategist and CNN contributor Alice Stewart.
“I think it’s wrong for the Republican Party. I think it’s wrong for the institution,” he said. “I think it’s wrong for the country. Vacating the chair right now would be a dangerous gambit.”
He called for there to be a “functioning Congress.”
Mr. Johnson became speaker on Oct. 25, succeeding former Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
Mr. McCarthy was ousted on Oct. 3 through a motion to vacate. Eight Republicans joined all Democrats in doing so.
It was the first time a speaker had been ousted through the vacate motion.
Mr. Johnson’s remarks came as he appeared safe from losing his position as second in line to the presidency.
This is thanks to Democrats, led by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), saying that they plan to come to Mr. Johnson’s rescue when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (D-Ga.) puts her motion to vacate on the House floor next week.
In an April 30 statement, Mr. Jeffries, along with House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and House Democrat Conference Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), cited Mr. Johnson putting forth and getting passed a couple weeks ago a $95 billion package that included assistance to Israel, Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific, and a bill with measures such as banning TikTok.
“We will vote to table Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Motion to Vacate the Chair. If she invokes the motion, it will not succeed.”
However, not all Democrats will vote in favor of Mr. Johnson staying as speaker.
“If you’re asking me: ‘Do I believe Democrats should help Mike Johnson?’ I do not,” Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) told The Epoch Times.
“Nothing personal. But he’s not my candidate. He is very right-wing. I don’t know why I'd support that.”
Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), a progressive, concurred.
“Mike Johnson is absolutely against everything that I believe in,” she told The Epoch Times. “There’s no way that I would vote for someone like him to be able to stay in his seat.”
Ms. Greene, who filed the motion to vacate in what she said was a warning shot in response to Mr. Johnson getting through Congress in March a $1.2 trillion bill to fund most of the government, announced on May 1 that she would bring her motion next week to oust Mr. Johnson as speaker. This would force a vote within two days.
Ms. Greene’s motion is supported by Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.).
He has “become a man that none of us recognize,” according to Ms. Greene, who voted for Mr. Johnson to be speaker.
“I voted for Mike Johnson, because his voting record before he became speaker was conservative,” she said. “He voted against funding Ukraine. He was solidly pro-life. He voted to secure the border. He voted to fight against Democrats, fight against the witch hunt against President Trump.”
