Several of the eight Republicans who voted to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) say that House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) job is safe.
On the surface, there are striking resemblances between the results of the leadership of the two men.
In a move that cost him his job, Mr. McCarthy opted to work with Democrats to keep the government open, prompting Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) to put forward a motion to vacate the speakership that ended in Mr. McCarthy’s ouster.
Since then, however, Mr. Johnson has passed several such stopgap funding bills, but has faced no substantial challenge to his position from within his conference.
Conservatives also criticized Mr. McCarthy’s deals with Democrats, like the Fiscal Responsibility Act, that they said didn’t give enough policy wins to Republicans.
Now, Congress is poised to pass a $1.2 trillion minibus spending package that conservatives have condemned as an “abomination.”
But still, three of the lawmakers who voted Mr. McCarthy out say Mr. Johnson is under no similar threat.
Mr. Gaetz, the lawmaker with the most responsibility for Mr. McCarthy’s removal, said he doesn’t want to see Mr. Johnson go.
“If we vacate this speaker, we’ll end up with a Democrat speaker,” he explained, saying he believes there are Republicans who would vote to make House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) speaker if Mr. Johnson were ousted.
Mr. Gaetz acknowledged the similarities between Mr. Johnson and Mr. McCarthy on spending, but cited several differences between the two in other areas, including the House’s subpoena of first son Hunter Biden and passing articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
He suggested that many of Mr. Johnson’s faults are driven by moderate Republicans willing to join Democrats on spending issues, and said the solution, rather than giving Mr. Johnson the boot, is to “elect a better batch of Republicans.”
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), another lawmaker who voted to oust Mr. McCarthy, condemned the minibus as “a pile of garbage” and acknowledged that Mr. Johnson “is responsible for this package, ultimately.”
But he rebuffed suggestions of another power struggle within the House GOP.
Asked by a reporter whether there would be “consequences” for Mr. Johnson’s deal with the Democrats, Mr. Burchett said, “There’s always gonna be consequences.”
But, he said, “If we were to kick him out, you might as well just give the gavel to Hakeem.”
He mentioned that there is some discussion behind the scenes of booting Mr. Johnson out, but dismissed this, saying, “They’re always talking about it but they’re not stepping up to do it.”
Several of the ones talking tough, he said, were only doing so due to pushback from constituents for not joining in on Mr. McCarthy’s ouster.
Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.), who also voted to remove Mr. McCarthy, echoed Mr. Burchett, striking a conciliatory and understanding tone toward the embattled speaker.
While acknowledging that the buck stops with Mr. Johnson, Mr. Crane said, “We’ve also got to be realistic and look at the situation.”
He emphasized that he wouldn’t support a motion to vacate against Mr. Johnson at the present time.
“I’m glad that we did what we did,” Mr. Crane said. “At the very least ... Speaker Johnson is transparent and, you know, doesn’t make promises and then not deliver on those promises.”
Mr. Crane cited the shrinking Republican majority in the House as part of the reasoning for his much more understanding approach to Mr. Johnson’s speakership.
Still, Mr. Crane said he wouldn’t have faith in Mr. Johnson “until I see him start playing to win.”
Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.), who voted to keep Mr. McCarthy in but nonetheless skews toward the right-wing of the party, also said he doesn’t want to see Mr. Johnson ousted—and suggested there isn’t much discussion of the move within the party.
Asked whether Mr. Johnson is at risk, Mr. Bishop replied, “I mean, not for me, and I don’t hear talk about that. I don’t think that sentiment exists at this point.”
But he did say Mr. Johnson might fail to win enough support to reclaim the mantle during the next Republican majority House.
“I think he needs something dramatic that indicates he’s capable of putting his speakership on the line for change that Americans want [and] need,” Mr. Bishop said.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), who’s blasted Mr. Johnson for the minibus, also says he isn’t thinking about a motion to vacate for the time being.
“I’m not going to go down that road right now,” he said during a March 21 interview on Fox News’ “Your World.”
However, just because these lawmakers wouldn’t support a motion to vacate, Mr. Johnson could still face a challenge, as several Republicans have grown increasingly frustrated with his management of the lower chamber.
But having their backing—even if reluctantly—is a good indicator that Mr. Johnson’s job is probably safe for now.
