Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) allegedly told wealthy contributors at the Four Seasons in Washington, D.C., that he was in favor of taking revenge on Republicans who oppose him.
At a Sunday event, Johnson gave the influential organization a hint that he would back removing committee members who opposed the legislative agenda of his coalition administration. At the end of this Congress, he expressed support for modifying House rules, including those pertaining to the motion to vacate.
His comments coincide with the preparations for this week’s vote on Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-GA) move to make him resign as chair, which is identical to the procedural motion that forced Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from the speakership in October of last year.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) claims that after Johnson’s “three betrayals,” Greene said she would push the vote against him. Specifically, Johnson pushed through the renewal of the Foreign Intell. Surveillance Act (FISA) following his pivotal vote to remove the need for a warrant in order to spy on Americans. Moreover, he implemented a plan to disburse tens of billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine, despite his earlier promise to hold off until the resolution of the border issue. As a result of all these activities, the twelve separate appropriations bills, as well as the two-part omnibus measure, which heavily favored Democrats, came to an end.
Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader of the House, went so far as to assert that he, not Johnson, is in charge of setting the House agenda.
In response to Punchbowl News’ article on Monday, Greene stated that Johnson is the source of the issue inside the House GOP Conference.
“If we vote against Speaker Mike Johnson’s rules or proposals, he is threatening to remove Republican members from committees,” she said on X. This is after he fulfilled every desire of Chuck Schumer and Joe Biden by passing significant legislation with Democrats rather than the vast majority of Republicans!
McCarthy’s gavel-winning concessions to conservatives included the appointment of conservative Reps. Ralph Norman (R-SC), Chip Roy (R-TX), and Massie to the influential House Rules Committee in January 2023. The obscure committee—long referred to as “the Speaker’s committee” due to the Speaker’s disproportionate power over it—manages the legislative agenda of the House floor through what are known as rules.
Generally speaking, committee rule votes are essentially the speaker’s rubber stamp. However, the three conservative MPs managed to tip the scales in the committee—which has four minority members and nine majority members—allowing them to stall legislation until the speaker takes conservative concerns into account before pushing rules through.
By collaborating with Democrats to push legislation past conservatives in his own party and onto the floor, Johnson has created history.
Moreover, before voting on the underlying legislation, the House must vote to approve the rules on the floor. A minority party voting on a majority-issued rule is extremely unusual, much like in the Rules Committee.
However, Johnson has resorted to forging a coalition government with Democrats by passing legislation on the House floor under Democratic procedures.
Johnson is probably going to table Greene’s vote, considering that Jeffries and Democratic leaders have promised to support Johnson in the event of a move to the table. If Greene insists on requiring a vote a second time or more, all bets are off.
