The House Republican rebels who ousted former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in the fall are now hesitant to accept a new push to remove current House Speaker Mike Johnson from office.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea. We’re not getting help. I’m glad they’re fixing the problem, but waiting another week just keeps reporting it,” said Rep. Tim Burchett, R-S.C. Tennessee) on Wednesday.
Burchett announced that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) will push for a full House vote to fire Johnson, R-La., through a process known as a motion in absentia within the next week. hours later, he spoke to Fox News Digital. Chair.
He introduced the resolution in late March and is expected to call it a “privilege” next week. That means House leaders will have two legislative days to vote on the bill themselves, or they will first try to defeat the bill with a vote on the floor. resolution.
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The Republican rebels who ousted former Speaker McCarthy, such as Reps. Tim Burchett (left) and Matt Gaetz (right), have shown little desire to oust current House Speaker Mike Johnson. (Getty Images)
But aside from enthusiastic support from Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Ms. Greene’s push largely failed among House Republicans. That includes the remaining seven of the eight former House Republicans who voted with Democrats to support McCarthy, R-Calif., in early October.
Asked what had changed now, Burchett told reporters that the rebels were “100% confident that we’re going to bring in Republicans.”
“There are Republicans in the district. [where] Democrats won the White House by 15 points. So anything can happen in an election year,” he said.
What’s more, nearly all of the rebels expressed disappointment at the idea that Mr. Johnson had not done enough for House Republicans’ priorities since his gavel victory in late October, but most have been hesitant to say whether they want to hold another midterm presidential election, and some have openly called for an election. I rejected that idea.
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“I do not support the eviction motion. I am still recovering from the original motion,” said Rep. Nancy Mace (RS.C.). she told FOX News Digital on Monday.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida), who spearheaded the effort to oust Mr. McCarthy, said he would “probably support the motion to rescind.”
Asked what he thought about Greene’s announcement that she would force a vote next week, Gates told Fox News Digital: “I think everyone will have time over the weekend to think about that.”
Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massey have announced that they will move to force a vote to remove House Speaker Mike Johnson next week. (Getty Images)
House Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good (R-Va.) suggested last month that he wants a new House Republican leader, but that the Republican majority is thinner than it was when they ousted Mr. McCarthy. It pointed out. Since then, he has not given any hint about changing his position.
“I think there’s a lot of dissatisfaction within the Republican Party. I think the Speaker has guaranteed that there will be a speaker election in November. Hopefully, if you’re sitting with 216 seats, that’s the smart thing to do. I think it’s a 213 margin,” Good told reporters.
Similarly, Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) also expressed displeasure with Johnson’s leadership. told CNN and the hill Each said that the possibility of Johnson’s dismissal is low at this point.
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Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.), who is retiring at the end of this year, did not share his thoughts with reporters earlier this week.
“Even if she tries to move, we don’t know what will happen, but our understanding is that we have 48 hours,” Rosendale said. “So I think we’ll have a lot of time to think about that.”
When asked about their lukewarm response to her push, Greene told FOX News Digital, “I think that’s the question you have to ask them.”
Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massey strongly opposed the removal of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. (Javin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
“But if they stand by the words and statements they made when they voted to oust Kevin McCarthy, who basically did nothing wrong, from the Speaker’s position, then they will “I think he’ll be the first to vote to remove Johnson,” Greene said.
But Massey, along with Greene, said in comments to reporters early Wednesday evening that they expected more Republican support next week.
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“I would venture to predict that there will be enough votes to indicate that Mike Johnson will not be elected Speaker in January, because although he could get Democratic votes on a vote motion, it would be “This is not a motion to “take place on January 3,” Massey said, referring to the closed House Republican leadership election.
Massey and Greene strongly opposed overthrowing McCarthy last year.
The eighth Republican to vote to expel Mr. McCarthy, former Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), left the House in March before his term expired.
