Despite disagreements with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who has held the title of second-in-line to the presidency for just five months, there appears to be little appetite from Republicans to strip the gavel from him.
This comes as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has filed a motion to oust Mr. Johnson from the speaker’s chair—also known as a motion to vacate.
“This is a betrayal of the American people. This is a betrayal of the Republican voters,” the congresswoman told reporters outside the Capitol following the March 22 vote on a package to fund most of the federal government.
Ms. Greene remarked that while she does not want to “throw the House into chaos,” the motion is a warning to Mr. Johnson.
“Committees will continue doing their work, investigations will continue. ... I support Republicans holding the majority next conference, but we need a speaker of the House that knows how to negotiate, knows how to walk in the room, knows how to hold the line, and knows how to defend America first and the values and the policies that President Trump will bring,” she said.
Gaetz Defends Johnson
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), the lawmaker who led the effort to remove former Rep. Kevin McCarthy from the speakership, said in late March that he doesn’t want to see Mr. Johnson go.
“If we vacate this speaker, we'll end up with a Democrat speaker,” he said, adding that he believes that 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 President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden and the passing of 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 ousting Mr. Johnson, is to “elect a better batch of Republicans.”
Most Republicans voted against the $1.2 trillion bill to fund most of the government that Congress passed in late March.
The funding package, made up of six appropriations bills and referred to as a “minibus,” was introduced in the wee hours of March 21—just one day ahead of the deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown. Despite fierce opposition from most of the GOP conference, the measure passed under a suspension of the rules in a 286–134 vote.
Johnson Better Than Jeffries, Some Say
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), another lawmaker who voted to oust Mr. McCarthy, condemned the minibus as “a pile of garbage” and said 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 going to be consequences.”
But, he said, “If we were to kick him out, you might as well just give the gavel to Hakeem.”
Mr. Burchett mentioned that there has been some discussion behind the scenes of ousting Mr. Johnson, but he dismissed it.
“They’re always talking about it, but they’re not stepping up to do it,” he said.
Several of the people talking tough were doing so only because of pushback from their constituents for not joining in on Mr. McCarthy’s ouster, Mr. Burchett said.
Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.), who also voted to remove Mr. McCarthy, struck a conciliatory and understanding tone toward the embattled Mr. Johnson.
While acknowledging that the buck stops with Mr. Johnson, Mr. Crane said the GOP must “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, referring to Mr. McCarthy’s removal. “At the very least ... Speaker Johnson is transparent and, you know, doesn’t make promises and then not deliver on those promises.”
He cited the shrinking Republican majority in the House as part of the reasoning for his much more understanding approach to Mr. Johnson’s speakership.
Other Republicans Content to Keep Speaker
Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.), who voted to keep Mr. McCarthy in the speakership but skews to the right wing of the party, also said he doesn’t want to see Mr. Johnson ousted and suggested that 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 that 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 has blasted Mr. Johnson for the minibus, also said 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 with “Your World” on Fox News.
There are also indications that Mr. Johnson could potentially be assisted by Democrats while facing another motion to vacate.
Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) spoke about the issue during an appearance on “Meet the Press” on March 31.
He emphasized that he’s behind Democratic leadership “100 percent,” but said he would be willing to back Mr. Johnson if advised to do so by Mr. Jeffries.
Mr. Johnson’s putting forth the two-pronged government funding bills this month is not the only reason that he has come under fire.
He has yet to allow a $95 billion Senate-passed package that includes assistance to Ukraine and Israel to be voted on in the House. He and many other Republicans have called for tough border security measures in exchange for allocating foreign assistance amid the latest conflict between Israel and Hamas and in the war between Ukraine and Russia.
Republicans in the Senate blocked a bipartisan $118 billion package that not only included funding for Jerusalem and Kyiv, but also consisted of border provisions that many GOP lawmakers said were insufficient amid the crisis at the southern border.
Additionally, Mr. Johnson has put forth bills that would give assistance to Israel. One was a $14 billion bill that was offset with the same amount in IRS funding allocated under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. It passed the House, but most Democrats voted against it, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the bill was dead on arrival in the upper congressional chamber.
Mr. Johnson then had the House vote on a separate bill to provide $14 billion in aid to Israel, but it didn’t pass because it needed a two-thirds majority under an expedited process. Most Democrats voted in opposition to the measure even though it did not include any offsets.
Mr. Massie wrote, “What’s your mission sir?”
