Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) said Monday that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) needs to lay out a plan to implement President-elect Trump's policies if he wants to secure his vote for speaker. said.
In an interview on Fox News' “Fox & Friends,” Spartz said of Johnson's “track record,” saying, “Unfortunately, we're not going to be able to implement President Trump's policies…If we have a Republican chairman… “What if it wasn't for him?” he said. Courage, vision, and planning. ”
“If Speaker Johnson wants to be Speaker of the House, he needs to present a plan and commit to that plan, not like he did last year. “He promised to set up a commission, but President Trump is right, we don't have a plan. He was afraid to put it on the floor. He was afraid to fund it.” Spartz said.
exclude ” [a] “Because of the Post Office Bill, we haven’t been able to accomplish anything,” she continued. “So I can give him a chance, but I want to hear how he's going to implement this agenda, what plans he has, and he's not implementing it. .”
The interview took place before President Trump publicly announced his support for Johnson as chairman.
“I understand why President Trump would support Chairman Johnson the same way he supported Chairman Ryan, and this is definitely important,” Spartz said. Post on social platform X Follow its development. “But we need assurances that @SpeakerJohnson won't sell us into the swamp.”
Along with the post, she shared a link to an article about Trump's support of Ryan and the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in 2016.
In a statement released Monday, Mr. Spartz similarly laid out the requirements for Mr. Johnson to win votes, saying the incoming speaker would create “at least a temporary structure” for authorizations, settlement offset policies, and spending audits. He said a public commitment was needed.
“The current structure, with its perverse incentives, has not worked for decades and will not suddenly start working. “We need to have a concrete plan, and despite countless discussions and commitments, we have not seen it from the current chairman,” she said in a statement.
Johnson needs 218 votes to become speaker of the House, but he cannot afford to lose the support of the 219 House Republicans anymore. Democrats have made it clear they will not support Johnson's candidacy, and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) is opposing him in the House speaker race.
Mr. Spartz said in an interview that he was confident there would be a speaker by Mr. Trump's inauguration, and that even if Mr. Johnson didn't get the necessary votes, there were other senators who might be interested in the job. He said he knew there were some.
