Rep. Scott Perry (Pennsylvania), former chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, has joined Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) as the House prepares to formally elect a speaker on January 3. He is the latest Republican lawmaker to decline to express support. , added uncertainty to the prospects of Republican leaders retaining the gavel.
“I think Mike has done a great job under tough circumstances so far, but I'm keeping my options open. I want to talk to Mike,” Perry said. He spoke on Friday's “Morning with Maria.'' About Fox Business.
Johnson was once again unanimously nominated as House Republican speaker in November, but Republican dissatisfaction with last week's handling of the year-end short-term funding agreement left Republican leadership on thin ice ahead of the Jan. 3 vote. placed on top.
“What our members want is what they think is good for the country, but in some cases they understand how Speaker Johnson has gotten us to a place where we can claim to have achieved that.” I haven't,” Perry said.
Mr. Perry, who was appointed by Prime Minister Johnson to the coveted post on the House Intelligence Committee earlier this year, was less critical of Mr. Johnson than some of his hardline conservative colleagues.
One Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, has already announced that he will vote against the speaker on Jan. 3, citing dissatisfaction not only with the continuing resolution but also with other issues, including funding for Ukraine last year. publicly promised.
Johnson cannot afford to have multiple Republicans defect on the House floor in the Jan. 3 speaker election, assuming all members show up and vote. 219 Republicans are scheduled to take the oath of office on January 3, and all 215 Democrats are expected to vote for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York.
Several other Republicans have declined to say whether they support Johnson.
In a statement on social platform New unpaid expenses It is not offset by cuts in the spending bill.
The dissatisfaction is not limited to hard-line fiscal hawks. Representative Nicole Malliotakis (RN.Y.) also He spoke on Fox Business Friday. She said she had “questions and concerns” about Johnson.
“I think the last week has just raised a lot of concerns about how we're going to proceed with things,” Malliotakis said. “Are we going to work together within the conference to get a solution or are we going to run Democratic to get automatic votes?”
“We shouldn't see the chair shaking hands on an agreement without first coming to the meeting and getting buy-in,” she added.
Mr Perry said the biggest difference-maker for Mr Johnson may be President-elect Trump, who signaled support for him in November but last week announced a funding deal and calls for a debt ceiling increase. There was a conflict with Mr.
“Honestly, the person who can make a difference is President Trump. No matter who the president supports, he's likely to become chairman,” Perry said.
