Many House Republicans are expressing strong dissatisfaction with the new majority leader Mike Johnson over the passage of a continuing resolution to fund the government beyond November 17, which lacked the significant spending cuts expected by budget hawks.
Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas articulated this discontent.
“It’s sort of like strike one and two … and the speaker needs to know that,” he said. Roy, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, was among those opposing the resolution. He criticized House Republican leaders for flawed priorities in a speech on the House floor after the resolution’s passage.
“If this body were serious we wouldn’t leave town without ensuring we were secure!” Roy exclaimed.
The House and Senate passed the continuing resolution (CR) on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, extending funding for some agencies until January 19 and the remainder until February 2. President Joe Biden signed the bill into law on Thursday. Although supported by House Republican leaders, 93 members of the House Republican Conference opposed it, reflecting poorly on Johnson’s short tenure as speaker.
Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene also expressed her concerns.
“It’s extremely concerning to me and it’s a big disappointment. This is not what we should have been doing. At the minimum, there should have been a C.R. with a 1% cut. I’m also concerned about where we’re going,” she said.
Some conservative Republicans have indicated that their confidence in Johnson will depend on his ability to pass all 12 appropriations bills individually through the House before the next shutdown deadline. So far, the House has passed seven of them, with several being pulled from the floor prior to Tuesday’s adjournment amid a lack of support from moderate Republicans.
Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who led the ousting of McCarthy in October, commented on CNN about the situation.
“Mike Johnson and Kevin McCarthy both promised us a path to single-subject spending bills. In seven months of Kevin McCarthy being speaker, he only delivered one of them,” Gaetz said. He added that if Johnson could only deliver one appropriations bill over seven months, he would likely face a motion to vacate.
Under current House rules, a single member may call a motion to vacate the chair, which requires 218 votes to pass. With House Republicans holding a four-seat majority, a few Republican members joining all Democrats could remove the speaker from office.
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