House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was appointed the 56th Speaker of the House after Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was vacated from the position in October. Some House Republicans are now discussing the possibility of Johnson facing the same fate.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) is a member of the Freedom Caucus and has been an outspoken opponent of Johnson’s government spending framework aimed at averting a looming government shutdown. Roy and others are unhappy that Johnson’s deal is similar to the one made between McCarthy and the White House last year.
.@HouseGOP FAILED to use its leverage to force cuts to inflationary spending
We must reject this "deal" w/ Dems that will INCREASE spending by ~$30 BILLION & fund agencies at war with our liberty & security – like Mayorkas' DHS#NoGimmicks #NoSideDeals #NoSecurityNoFunding pic.twitter.com/XRBmzUshyz
— Rep. Chip Roy Press Office (@RepChipRoy) January 9, 2024
“I’m leaving it on the table. I’m not gonna say I’m gonna go file it tomorrow night. I’m not saying I’m not gonna file it tomorrow. I think the speaker needs to know that we’re angry about it,” Roy told BlazeTV host Steve Deace when asked about using a “motion to vacate” on Speaker Johnson.
On Sunday Johnson joined Democrats Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to announce the tentative agreement that would establish an overall spending level of $1.66 trillion.
Johnson said that the agreement would “slash” $16 billion in spending, but the $1.66 trillion is almost identical to the number negotiated between Biden and McCarthy last year.
Roy was not the only Republican in Congress opposed to the deal, but many Republicans were leery of using the motion to vacate again just months after Johnson replaced McCarthy.
“Anyone that wants to go in that direction is showing how unserious they are about us maintaining the majority,” Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY) told Fox News about the idea of filing a motion to vacate Johnson. “It looks like they’re just trying to sabotage the future, and they’re working for Joe Biden at that point.”
Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) also came out strongly against the idea of vacating another Speaker of the House.
“And I would say that Chip Roy haphazardly throwing in a motion to vacate is probably about the dumbest thing that could happen, because I think the last motion to vacate was pretty stupid,” Greene said. “I mean, look at the results we have now. We haven’t passed any more appropriation bills since they threw out Kevin McCarthy.”
