Mike Johnson Targets Republicans Opposing Democrats

(LibertySociety.com) – House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., appears to have no problem striking back at Republicans who oppose his agenda, including ousting them from committee assignments. Johnson allegedly spoke about his conservative critics during a fundraising retreat at the Four Seasons in the nation’s capital over the first weekend of May. Additionally, Johnson said that he would support rule changes in the House after the 118th Congress. His remarks came just days before Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., forced a vote on her motion to vacate the chair, which catastrophically failed.

Greene was not the only Republican to support Johnson’s removal. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., supported the measure due to the Speaker’s “three betrayals.” The first betrayal was Johnson’s sudden abandonment of passing 12 separate appropriations bills, which Republicans promised to do rather than passing continuing resolutions or omnibus spending bills. The second betrayal was Johnson’s tie-breaking vote to squash an amendment to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) reauthorization that would have required intelligence agencies to obtain a warrant before surveilling American citizens. The third betrayal was Johnson’s decision to hold a vote on funding for Ukraine and other countries without securing funding for the United States’ southern border.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Greene blasted Johnson for “serving Chuck Schumer and Biden’s every single wish” and working with the Democrats to pass legislation without majority Republican support. Massie was one of the Republicans selected to the House Rules Committee when Kevin McCarthy was elected as Speaker. He and two other hardliner Republicans have successfully thwarted the advancement of several pieces of legislation, but Johnson’s willingness to work with Democrats has effectively ended their power.

Democrats have rarely worked with Republicans to bring any votes to the floor, but Johnson has teamed up with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to ram Biden’s agenda through the House. Former President Trump expressed his support for Greene and Speaker Johnson but advised against attempting to vacate the chair to prevent chaos within the Republican Party.