House Speaker Mike Johnson is being lobbied by members of Congress to raise the threshold needed to remove him from office, according to multiple Republican sources, a move the Louisiana Republican has been pushing outside the country. It would be a move to pass an aid bill while still allowing people to keep jobs without having to. Look to the Democrats to bail him out.
The proposal sparked fresh anger among conservative lawmakers who are unhappy with the speaker over a series of bills to send aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, among other priorities. Efforts to remove Mr. Johnson from office have been building for weeks, led by Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, whose proposed changes to the rules for removal have sparked intense speculation about Mr. Johnson's future. ing.
It is unclear what Mr Johnson will do, but committee members believe he is considering changes to the process known as a motion to vacate the chair, which would be a significant move for him.
In recent days, rank-and-file House Republicans have privately encouraged Johnson to insert language into the foreign aid bill's rule text that would make the secession motion less accessible to a single member.
Currently, any lawmaker can force a floor vote on a motion to leave, part of the deal Kevin McCarthy made to become speaker last year.
News that Mr Johnson is being lobbied to raise the threshold was first reported by Punchbowl News.
Tensions were high in the House of Representatives Thursday morning. At one point, Mr. Johnson was surrounded by a number of far-right MPs in the House of Commons chamber, and a heated debate ensued. Mr. Johnson was essentially pinned to the back wall of the House chamber, flanked by members on all sides, and the speaker constantly turned his head as he responded to members' speeches.
The group implored Johnson to give assurances that he would not raise the threshold for a resignation motion and that the Speaker would not commit, leaving many MPs furious and saying this could push the resignation motion beyond their expectations. Some even said it was a red line. Move him forward.
“We put him on notice that any effort to change the criteria for a motion to resign would likely trigger a motion to resign,” Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, who participated in the conversation, told CNN. ” he said.
Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden weighed in during a heated 20-minute floor debate, emboldening his right-wing colleagues to move forward with a motion to remove Johnson and even calling Gates a “fat guy.” .
A Republican lawmaker who participated in the conversation with Johnson and was granted anonymity to speak freely said Van Orden began “threatening everyone to move forward with the motion to vacate.”
The Republican lawmaker said Johnson was “very frustrated.”
Mr Green warned the chair not to try to change the threshold and on Thursday refused to rule out a move to remove him.
“Mike Johnson has an obligation to meet with our entire conference, and if he wants to change his motion to resign, he must come before the Republican conference that elected him and tell us what his intentions are. “You need to tell us what changes this rule makes to the motion.'It's going to be vacant,” Greene told CNN's Manu Raju.
“It's unprecedented. Nothing like this has ever happened in history, and it's completely wrong. He has an obligation to tell our conference the truth, and he has an obligation to give Republicans answers. Yes,” she added.
MPs said they debated the motion to leave the floor and tried to persuade Johnson to change course on the foreign aid bill, but the speaker did not respond.
Conservative MP Anna Paulina Luna said on Wednesday night that she had urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson to take a step back as he tries to push through more policies against the wishes of hardliners. Luna said she was concerned that she could lose the Republican majority if she supported the secession motion.
“But I think the bigger question at hand is why we're hearing messages coming out of the speakers that contradict what happened months ago,” she says.
The House Rules Committee will meet Thursday morning to begin consideration of the foreign aid bill. The text of the regulations will be made public after committee approval and is expected to be published later in the day.
Moving forward with this rule comes as House Democrats are still considering how to proceed with a critical three-part additional aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Ukraine, while Johnson's job is on the line. Democrats will be needed for committee votes and on the floor. Taiwan is in a predicament.
Democrats remain divided on the issue, with some arguing that it is essential to overcome the bitter partisan divisions that characterize this Congress to provide critical aid to Ukraine, while others argue that it is essential to overcome the bitter partisan divisions that characterize this Congress; Some say it's up to Republicans to pass the bill.
“So this is certainly just another layer,” Democratic Rep. Dan Kildee told CNN. “This is a ridiculous rule. You know, are we doing the right thing in this moment? It doesn't matter,” he added. Whether we should try to rescue them from politics given the global security challenges is another matter. ”
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said she does not support the Republican rules, regardless of whether they include changes to the motion to vacate.
“So I think they need to pass this rule on their own, but I thought from the beginning that Kevin McCarthy should never have agreed to it,” Jayapal said. “He sold his soul early on and thought he could control everyone.”
Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley said he was inclined to support the rule and would consider supporting it if it included changing the function of a motion to vacate.
“I think dysfunction is everyone's problem, and I'm open to whatever it takes for us to function properly,” Quigley said.
Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz said leadership would need to consider such changes before deciding whether to support them.
One sticking point in the debate is that many Democrats see Mr. Johnson as a more honest broker than Mr. McCarthy. Despite the fact that they disagree with him on many issues, they also believe that he is a fair partner at a critical moment in passing government funds, and now aid to Ukraine.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
CNN’s Hayley Talbot contributed to this report.