GOP members who don’t support McCarthy are not trying to remove Speaker Johnson.
House GOP rebels who orchestrated the fall of ex-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are now ambivalent about supporting a new effort to remove current House Speaker Mike Johnson from his position. The hesitation stems from concerns over insufficient support for the plan.
In a statement made on Wednesday, Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., expressed skepticism by saying, “I don’t think it’s a good idea. The support’s not there. I’m glad they’re getting it out of the way, but waiting another week just keeps it in the press.”
The resolution to remove Johnson was filed in late March, and it is anticipated that it will be labeled as “privileged” next week. This designation means that House leaders will have two legislative days to either schedule a vote on the resolution or attempt to defeat it by demanding a vote to table the resolution.
Despite having fervent backing from Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., the push by Marjorie Taylor Greene to remove Johnson has not gained substantial traction within the House GOP. This includes the majority of the House Republicans who previously voted with Democrats to remove McCarthy in early October.
When questioned about the differences between the two situations, Burchett conveyed, “You’ve got Republicans in districts [where] Democrats won the White House by 15 points. So in an election year, anything can happen.”
Although the rebels have shared disappointment in Johnson’s perceived lack of advocacy for House GOP priorities since his inception as House Speaker in late October, most are hesitant to commit to another speaker election during the approaching midterms.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., a key figure who led the ousting of McCarthy, hinted at supporting a motion to table the proposal to remove Johnson from his position.
Bob Good, House Freedom Caucus Chairman, expressed a desire for a new House GOP leader last month, citing a narrower majority compared to when McCarthy was displaced. However, he refrained from indicating any change in his stance since then.
Similar sentiments were echoed by Reps. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., and Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., who implied dissatisfaction with Johnson’s leadership but cast doubt on the likelihood of his removal at present.
Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., who is set to retire at the end of this year, declined to disclose his thoughts on the matter earlier this week, stating that there was adequate time to consider the situation.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, while discussing the situation with reporters, highlighted the inconsistency in the rebels’ stance by pointing out their prior support for ousting McCarthy. Greene emphasized the need for consistency in their actions.
In contrast, Thomas Massie expressed optimism about garnering more GOP support for the motion next week, predicting that there will be sufficient votes to demonstrate Johnson’s lack of viability as a speaker in January.
It is worth noting that both Massie and Greene vehemently opposed toppling McCarthy last year. The eighth Republican who voted to remove McCarthy, former Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., had departed from the House before the end of his term.
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