U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., seen right here at the U.S. Capitol in October 2023, stated he referred to as on House Speaker Mike Johnson to resign.
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U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., seen right here at the U.S. Capitol in October 2023, stated he referred to as on House Speaker Mike Johnson to resign.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
A second Republican member is supporting an effort to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., says he is co-sponsoring a decision by Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, as frustration grows amongst blocs of conservative members at Johnson’s proposed foreign aid package.
“We’re steering everything toward what [Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer wants,” Massie stated of his complaints with Johnson. “I mean, if the country likes Chuck Schumer, then they should like what Speaker Johnson’s accomplished in the House.”
The Kentucky Republican pointed to a few areas the place he feels Johnson has let his convention down: the latest spending package, the House’s renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that permits for warrantless surveillance of foreign nationals inside the U.S., and aid to Ukraine.
Johnson introduced Monday plans to move forward on four separate bills to address foreign aid, together with to Israel and Ukraine.
Schumer and the White House have not dominated out backing Johnson’s plan.
Massie stated he requested Johnson to resign throughout a closed-door assembly with GOP House members Tuesday morning.
“He said he would not,” Massie instructed reporters after the assembly.
I simply instructed Mike Johnson in convention that I’m cosponsoring the Motion to Vacate that was launched by @RepMTG.
He ought to pre-announce his resignation (as Boehner did), so we will choose a brand new Speaker with out ever being and not using a GOP Speaker.
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) April 16, 2024
Massie argued Johnson ought to pre-announce his resignation, like former GOP Speaker John Boehner, in order that members may coalesce round a alternative and keep away from the drawn-out course of they confronted final fall when they ultimately elected Johnson as speaker.
“If somebody calls in a motion to vacate on the floor, and it succeeds, which it will, now you have no speaker,” Massie stated. “And then you have a temporary speaker and it’s a hot mess.”
His feedback come nearly a month after Greene filed a motion to vacate resolution over disputes with the speaker on how he dealt with a $1.2 trillion appropriations package. That decision is not privileged, that means it is unclear when it is likely to be dropped at the ground for a vote.
Massie stated if it is referred to as for a vote, “there will be a lot of people who vote for it.”
South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, stated he respects Massie however disagrees together with his assist of the movement to vacate.
“The last thing this country needs is to throw a speaker out, even though I disagree with what he’s done,” Norman stated.
After the assembly, Johnson instructed reporters that “steady leadership” is wanted and the motion-to-vacate threat weakens the GOP convention.
“It is, in my view, an absurd notion that someone would bring a vacate motion when we are simply here trying to do our jobs. It is not helpful to the cause,” Johnson stated. “We have to have a united front and we have to have our members work together.”
Johnson has a razor-thin majority, which fits down to at least one seat on Friday when Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher’s retirement turns into efficient. If Greene have been to name for a vote, Johnson would doubtless want assist from Democrats to maintain the gavel.
Florida Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz has already stated he would assist Johnson in a movement to vacate vote.
“Massie wants the world to burn, I won’t stand by and watch. I have a bucket of water,” he posted on X.
Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar instructed reporters Tuesday that Democrats need to see aid transfer ahead to Ukraine and Israel.
“That’s what we’re focused on right now. We can’t control the theatrics of Marjorie Taylor Greene and the House Republican conference,” he stated. “We don’t like the chaos and the dysfunction. We’ve been down this road before.”
NPR’s Deirdre Walsh and Lexie Schapitl contributed to this report.
