House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is facing backlash from far-right Republicans over his plan to fund the government with Democratic support. The House is scheduled to vote on a temporary funding resolution on Tuesday, which is expected to pass with significant Democratic votes. This move mirrors the situation that led to the removal of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) last month.
The House Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative lawmakers, has officially announced its opposition to the measure, although it has not stated if it will take action against Johnson. Representative Chip Roy (R-Texas) hinted at possible consequences, stating, “We’ll see. I tend to try to give people grace. I gave Kevin grace, I give Mike grace. Tough job. But I strongly disagree with this play call.”
Johnson utilized a special procedure called suspending the rules to bypass the House rules committee, where Roy and other conservatives had threatened to block a floor vote. This procedure, typically reserved for non-controversial bills with broad bipartisan support, requires a two-thirds supermajority for approval. Therefore, numerous Democrats will need to support the resolution for it to be adopted.
Roy criticized the use of suspension, deeming it “asinine,” and suggested that he may withdraw support for future Johnson priorities. He expressed, “It’s hard to fundraise and vote for certain things when you’re getting rolled on other things.”
In defense of his choice, Johnson highlighted what he believed was a new approach to the usual stopgap bill formula. He stated, “We’re not surrendering, we’re fighting. But you have to be wise about choosing the fights.” Johnson emphasized the importance of setting different dates for different sections of the government to shut down if no agreement is reached, referring to it as “an important innovation” that changes the dynamics of the debate.
While McCarthy was removed partly because the stopgap funding bill he passed with Democratic votes lacked spending cuts, Johnson is not concerned about facing the same fate. He asserted, “I’m not concerned about it at all. Kevin should take no blame for that. Kevin was in a very difficult situation when that happened. This is a different situation.”
McCarthy, in a recent interview, also expressed confidence in Johnson’s job security. House Republicans are hesitant to remove another speaker so soon after the three-week House shutdown that occurred during the struggle to replace McCarthy with Johnson. McCarthy asked, “Who are they going to replace him with?”
Some conservatives who oppose Johnson’s continuing resolution believe that the speaker will not face serious retaliation, considering he has only been in the job for a few weeks. Representative Bob Good (R-Va.) explained why Johnson should not be benched, stating, “The team’s down 30 to nothing in the fourth quarter, you put in the backup quarterback, and you want to hold him accountable for the three quarters of failure that got you behind?” Good likened the vote to both a fumble and an interception but clarified that he is not cutting Johnson.
Despite the criticism and opposition, it appears that Johnson’s position as House Speaker is secure for now.
