Days after his speakership was flagged by far-right lawmakers, Mike Johnson has laid out a strategy based on an important and perhaps surprising source. The source is Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, the architect of the last effort to remove the speaker.
Mr Gaetz has made it clear that he stands firm on Mr Johnson, but in a recent phone call he told the new chairman that he has no plans to move forward in the future as he deals with the threat of a possible motion to vacate the chairman's chair. He advised conservatives to win some kind of victory in the coming weeks. According to a source familiar with the conversation.
“I ended up giving some unsolicited advice to the speaker, which was that you have to be in combat mode, and I was very pleased with how the speaker took that advice,” Gates said. admitted in an interview with CNN. “The Speaker wants to give House Republicans a win, and we better get started. … I'm glad the Speaker didn't hold up the $95 billion Ukraine Supplemental Bill passed by the Senate. , I think he's paving the way forward on this issue as we speak.”
As speaker, Johnson has a wealth of tools at his disposal to appease a right wing enraged by the bipartisan spending deal he recently introduced in the House of Commons. But whether Johnson retains his speech gavel may depend on how he deals with an upcoming divisive policy issue: financing Ukraine in its war against Russia.
Asked if he would change his support for Johnson if the Speaker tabled a Ukraine bill that cannot be covered by spending cuts, Gates said: “We would be really disappointed if there was no offset.'' Stated. I don't think we should have deficit spending to fund Ukraine. I also think we need to prioritize our own borders. And I think Chairman Johnson shares that view. ”
Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia formally filed a motion to leave before adjournment, but has yet to take the necessary steps to actually force a floor vote on the resolution, effectively You're keeping the threat in your pocket for now. Allies close to Mr. Johnson do not believe that Mr. Greene will actually go through with it, and even if he did, they believe there would be little support for such a move on either side. There is. Meanwhile, Mr Johnson's office insists he is focused on governing and will not act out of fear of a motion to step down.
01:23 – Source: CNN
Watch what Greene said after introducing the motion to remove Speaker Johnson from office.
But given the ever-shrinking House Republican majority, Greene's unpredictable nature and the shocking manner in which former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted, Johnson also cannot leave anything to chance. People who have spoken with the chairman in recent days say he is acutely aware that a motion to step down is looming as he makes important decisions on aid to Ukraine, and that the threat of a short-term or longer-term Regardless, it could determine the trajectory of the speaker's political career. Long term. During the two-week Easter break, Prime Minister Johnson has been secretly working with his key lieutenants to set the course for Ukraine strategy.
“After that budget fiasco, he has to step up (his support),” one Republican lawmaker disappointed with the spending plan told CNN. “That was a terrible deal.”
Democrats have signaled that they will save Johnson if they pass a Ukraine bill that he can support. But if he passes a bill narrower than requested or with new border restrictions, he risks putting off both Democrats and right-wing Republicans who oppose adding $1 to Ukraine. Moreover, adding spending cuts to offset Ukraine policy, as Mr. Gaetz and other hardliners hope, would draw fierce opposition from Democrats.
“My advice to Mike is to start with the Americans here and work from there. Don't start with Ukraine and work like that,” said Republican Rep. Chip Roy (Texas). He added that he was in “constant communication” with the chairman and his team.
Mr. Roy, one of the most vocal critics of the bipartisan spending law, did not say whether he supported Mr. Greene's efforts to oust Mr. Johnson.
“Now we have to go back and unite the Republican Party, point out what our radical Democratic colleagues are doing, and actually present a competing vision,” he said.
Green, on the other hand, has his own strategy. She is working with a small group of allies to assess their members' positions, according to a lawmaker familiar with the conversations.
“People are talking about it,” the lawmaker said.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia speaks to reporters outside the U.S. Capitol on March 22, 2024 in Washington, DC.
The day Greene filed her motion against Johnson, Republican Representative Thomas Massey of Kentucky told CNN that Greene was in no rush to act.
“Maybe now we can start looking for a replacement, we can continue the investigation and we can continue to work,” Massey told CNN last week.
But he declined to say whether he supported Mr Johnson's ouster, saying: “There is no merit in answering that question.”
Although Ms. Greene has publicly criticized the chairman on social media in recent days, people familiar with the matter say she has kept her actual plans to herself, confiding them only to a few key allies.
As Ms. Greene and her allies gradually begin to close in on her colleagues, key members of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, including members who supported removing Ms. McCarthy, have not shown the same appetite for ousting Mr. Johnson. .
Rep. Bob Good, Republican of Virginia, who chairs a right-wing group and was one of eight Republicans who voted to expel Mr. McCarthy, told CNN. And she is a one-man show. She has a frosty relationship with Greene, who supports her primary opponent.''She is respectable and wants attention.''
“Nobody cares what Marjorie Taylor Greene says or thinks,” Good told CNN. “And she's a one-man show. She's grandstanding, she wants attention.”
Mr Good did not say whether he supported voting to remove Mr Johnson from office, but said: “I cannot defend the actions taken that have the significance of doing the same thing as the former speaker.'' ” he said.
Asked whether Mr Johnson should be voted out, Mr Good said: You know, I think that's a comment in itself. ”
Other hardliners oppose ousting Mr Johnson.
“I don't think now is the time to put America into another fight to elect a new Speaker of the House,” said Rep. Ralph Norman, Republican of South Carolina. “Therefore, I will not support (the motion to remove the speaker) if the House votes on it,” he said.
But while many Republicans remain supportive of Johnson for now, his response to aid to Ukraine when the House returns in April will likely determine where support ultimately lies. warned that it could become important.
Republican Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia said he didn't think Greene's threats against Johnson's job were serious, but said, “We need to secure our own borders before we focus on securing other countries' borders. I think we need to focus on that.”
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Congressman Matt Gaetz leaves a closed House Republican meeting at the U.S. Capitol on October 20, 2023, in Washington, DC.
Given the narrow margin in the House of Representatives and growing dissatisfaction within the Republican Party, the race for a new speaker will cause confusion, leading to the formation of a coalition government with the Democratic Party, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries likely to become speaker. Some people are concerned that it has a sexual nature. Sources told CNN that a number of Republicans made that point directly to Greene on the House floor, trying to dissuade her from moving forward with a resolution to expel Johnson.
“The last time I pulled the trigger on the evacuation motion, I made a real promise to the country that I would not have a Democratic Speaker of the House. And I delivered on that promise,” Gaetz said in an interview. “And I don’t know if we can do it again with a one-vote majority instead of a four-vote majority.”
But Green is looking ahead to keep up the pressure on social media and behind the scenes. She told CNN shortly after announcing her own plan that “quite a few” members of Congress support her efforts, but could not say specifically how many or who is supporting her. He said he did not disclose it.
“I have a number of dedicated people, and there are also many who have already expressed a huge sigh of relief to me,” she added.
Meanwhile, Greene has relentlessly targeted Johnson in a flurry of social media posts and has never been shy about her intentions.
“My resignation motion is a force for change, and the Republican Party had better take it seriously and spend the time it needs to plan and unite for new leadership,” he wrote on Thursday.
Haley Talbot and Sheden Tesfaldet contributed to this report.
