Johnson's House Speakership At Risk Amid GOP Doubts, Criticism Despite Trump Endorsement
U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks during a news
conference after a House Republican Caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol
on September 24, 2024 in Washington, DC.
GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson has received support from some House
Republicans following President-elect Donald Trump’s endorsement, while
others remain on the fence or are actively demanding a new “loyal”
speaker, ahead of the impending vote on January 3rd.
Republicans hold a thin majority in the Congress, making the margins
for Johnson’s (R-La.) bid for reelection razor thin as he can only
afford two Republican defectors to vote against him to prevent him from
winning reelection.
Johnson’s leadership as House speaker was tested last month after he
introduced a government spending bill packed with “wasteful spending and
pork,” his detractors argued, leading many Republicans to denounce the
bill and reject Johnson’s continuing resolution (CR), which he devised
alongside the Democrats.
Trump ally and co-head of the Department of Government Efficiency
(DOGE), Elon Musk, led the charge against Johnson’s nearly 1,550-page
bill, which was collaborated with the Democrats. It was packaged as a
disaster relief fund, but was highly criticized by Musk, who called the
bill “criminal” for its wasteful spending that included Congress member
pay raises and new football stadium.
“Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous
spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!” Musk wrote in
defiance of Johnson.
Following its release, Many GOP lawmakers backed Musk’s stance on the
massive spending bill, killing it and replacing it with a much smaller
spending package.
Slashing the “bloated, wasteful” spending and the bureaucracy of the
federal government has proven to play a key role in Trump’s re-election
efforts, nominating Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to co-lead
DOGE.
DOGE promises to expose and root out inefficiencies in the federal government.
“I’m disappointed,” stated Missouri Republican Eric Burlison (R-Mo.)
when asked about Johnson’s leadership. “I think that he can do better.
He can communicate better. The fact that we haven’t seen the language
today and we’re supposed to vote on it this week is unacceptable.”
Burlison was referring to the fact that the majority of lawmakers did
not have enough time to look over the new CR bill, feeling like they’re
in a bind.
“We’re just fundamentally unserious about spending. And as long as
you got a blank check, you can’t shrink the government. If you can’t
shrink the government, you can’t live free,” added Texas Rep. Chip Roy
(R-Texas).
Trump also recently provided the speaker with a “Complete & Total
Endorsement,” stating that Johnson would allow Congress to execute his
MAGA “America First” agenda.
“My friend [Johnson] has done an incredible job in the House, and I’m
glad he’s at the helm there as Congress looks forward to growing our
economy and safeguarding our communities in the new year,” stated
Senator John Kennedy (R-La.).
Soon after, other GOP officials chimed in to express their thoughts on the matter.
“I agree with President Trump that [Johnson] is the right man to
lead. He’s a committed conservative and a man of integrity,” added
Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.).
However, Johnson’s fate as speaker still hangs in the balance as
there are Republican House members who continue to doubt his leadership.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) is one indiciudal who is leading the charge,
stating “Johnson is not up for this task.”
“The ‘vote for Mike’ camp is not trying to make the case that Mike
Johnson is endowed with the qualities necessary to lead our conference,”
Massie wrote in an X post.
“Even if Mike’s entire goal is to do everything Trump wants without
debate or question (which I would argue is not healthy for the
institution of Congress), he’s not going to be good at it. He already
demonstrated this month that he won’t tell the President what is
achievable and what is not achievable in the House, and he lacks the
situational awareness himself to know what can pass and what cannot,” he
continued.
“I respect and support President Trump, but his endorsement of Mike
Johnson is going to work out about as well as his enforcement of Speaker
Paul Ryan,” Massie added. “We’ve seen Johnson partner with the
democrats to send money to Ukraine, authorize spying on Americans, and
blow the budget.”
Challenge accepted.
First
let me note that the “vote for Mike” camp is not trying to make the
case that Mike Johnson is endowed with the qualities necessary to lead
our conference. Even you have limited yourself here to procedural
justifications for his speakership rather than…
Additionally, other House Republicans have flirted with the idea of
replacing Johnson, including Kentucky Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Rep.
Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), and Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) among
others.
Johnson spoke with some of his skeptics ahead of the vote, warning
that any holdup with the House Speaker voting session could delay the
certification of Trump’s election victory, as the House is unable to do
any business until it chooses its speaker.
“We will get this done. Look, the things that we’re talking about
this morning are an illustration that we live in very serious times. We
cannot afford any palace drama here. We have got to get the Congress
started, which begins tomorrow, and we have to get immediately to work,”
Johnson stated.
“We have to certify the election of President Donald J Trump on Jan.
6, on Monday. And we have many important things pressing on us right
now, so there’s no time to waste. We have to stay unified,” he added.
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