As House Republicans grapple with infighting over various issues, much attention has been given to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who has been the subject of criticism from conservatives over issues like spending and others.
The internal strife has raised speculation that Johnson could possibly face the same fate as former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted last year. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) recently filed a motion to vacate against Johnson but has not pressed the matter, claiming it was merely a warning.
After the passage of the recent government funding package, Green said it was “a betrayal of the American people” and “a betrayal of the Republican voters.” She slammed Johnson over the border crisis, abortion, and other issues. Other Republican lawmakers voiced similar objections.
In her remarks, Greene pointed out that Johnson had been admonished all week long, “Do not break the 72-hour rule.” She continued:
He heard from all of us…all week long. ‘Allow us to introduce amendments. Allow us to do our jobs. Allow us to represent the districts that voted for us and sent us here.’
We want a secure border, and the Senate proposal of legalizing 5,000 people coming across the border every day is not securing the border. And this is giving them every point of leverage we have. Also, forcing Republicans to vote on full-term abortion funding in order to fund our military is a complete betrayal of all of our values, and our voters don’t want us to be doing that.
Nevertheless, Speaker Johnson appears to be unfazed. During an appearance on Fox News, Johnson dismissed Greene’s attacks, saying that “all of my other Republican colleagues recognize this is a distraction from our mission,” which is to “grow the House Majority, win the Senate, and win the White House.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson addresses Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s effort to oust him.
“I think all of my other Republican colleagues recognize this as a distraction from our mission. Again, the mission is to save the Republic.” pic.twitter.com/XYCMbO6RPE
— Jeff Charles, An Awful Pundit🏴 (@jeffcharlesjr) April 4, 2024
It appears there is good reason for Johnson’s confidence in his ability to keep his position. His Republican colleagues have expressed hesitancy about trying to oust him. Rep. Matt Gaetz, who spearheaded the effort to remove McCarthy as speaker indicated he would not support similar action against Speaker Johnson.
“If we vacate this speaker, we’ll end up with a Democrat speaker,” he explained, 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.
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN), who also voted to remove McCarthy, also criticized Johnson over the omnibus package. However, he indicated that getting rid of Johnson would result in Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) becoming the next speaker. “If we were to kick him out, you might as well just give the gavel to Hakeem,” he said.
To put it simply, there isn’t enough support among House Republicans to remove Johnson. This is a welcome development for the GOP as ousting him would only make things worse for Republicans in Congress. Dragging the nation through another drama-filled ordeal of choosing a new speaker would all but certainly hand the House to the Democrats in November.
Handing the gavel to Jeffries would already be embarrassing enough for the GOP. However, losing the lower chamber because they couldn’t find a speaker that could satisfy everyone would be devastating and might have far-reaching consequences for Republicans at all levels of government.
For now, Johnson is the guy with the gavel, regardless of how people feel about him. If the GOP wants to keep power in the legislature, they might want to follow his advice and focus on winning elections and furthering an agenda that resonates with the American public.
