Why Mike Johnson Won’t Be Kevin McCarthy’d:
GOP fatigue, shift by Democrats are set to block Marjorie Taylor Greene’s effort to force out House speaker
House lawmakers are bracing for another vote on removing the chamber’s leader this week, with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R., Ga.) promising to force the matter to the floor over what she said was mounting frustration with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.).
Her move comes about seven months after a similar effort by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.) who succeeded in ousting Kevin McCarthy as speaker, aided by seven other Republican rebels and all Democrats.
But unlike McCarthy, Johnson is expected to beat back the dissidents and hang onto the gavel, at least for now. Here are five reasons why:
1. Most House Republicans are tired of the drama
After McCarthy became the first speaker in history to be removed, House Republicans plunged into three weeks of chaos, unable to coalesce around a successor. They finally elected Johnson after a number of more-senior GOP leaders were unable to rally enough votes. It was an embarrassing period for House Republicans—intraparty feuding dominated headlines—and most say they have little desire to repeat the experience, especially not in an election year.
“We have to understand, this is not a junior high school reality television show,” said Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R., Wis.). Rep. Marc Molinaro (R., N.Y.) said lawmakers shouldn’t be “wasting one ounce of time talking about the theatrics.”
Johnson said on Fox News on Saturday that he wasn’t worried about Greene’s motion. “I don’t think it goes anywhere,” he said. “I think there are people of good faith in both parties who want the Congress to be functioning.”
Greene filed her initial motion to remove Johnson in March but didn’t immediately bring it up for a vote. She said she now intends to bring it up next week as a privileged motion, which forces the speaker to schedule a vote within two legislative days. She said Johnson has betrayed Republicans by relying on Democratic votes to avoid government shutdowns, fund Ukraine aid and reauthorize a controversial surveillance bill.
“I really don’t give a rat’s ass what anybody up here says about what I’m doing,” Greene said.
2. Trump stood by Johnson
After Greene filed her motion on March 22, Johnson made a pilgrimage to Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida to reinforce his ties to the former president at a joint press appearance. Trump, who has the power to make or break Republican careers, made it clear he still backed Johnson, saying the small GOP majority in the House was “not an easy situation for any speaker” and that Johnson was “doing about as good as you’re going to do.”
Johnson traveled to Mar-a-Lago this weekend to speak at a big donor retreat. At a luncheon Saturday, Trump praised the speaker for his leadership, according to attendees and the Trump campaign.
“I have a long relationship with President Trump. For eight years now we’ve worked together very closely,” Johnson said Friday on SiriusXM’s “The Laura Coates Show.” --->READ MORE HERE (or HERE)
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