A bipartisan group of House members met in the back of the chamber around 2 p.m. Saturday. The House had just passed a $26 billion aid package for Israel, 366 to 58, which was the last of several roll-call votes on a handful of foreign aid bills, including $61 billion for Ukraine. .
But members weren’t sure they were done yet or would be able to return home for what was now a week-long delayed recess in the House. High drama gripped the Capitol all day as the House raced toward passage of the foreign aid package. But Saturday’s legislative spectacle over foreign aid measures had the potential to become a forgotten card. A climatic political event was looming. Lawmakers wanted to see what would develop and whether their services were still needed in the House.
Everyone stayed to see if Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., would introduce her resolution to impeach House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana. It would be difficult to underline how dramatic the scene could be, especially since Democrats bailed out Johnson on Friday in an effort to get the foreign aid package up for discussion. And when it came to Ukraine, only 101 Republicans voted “yes.” Another 112 voted “no.” Meanwhile, 210 Democrats voted in favor.
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Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, speaks to the media after the House of Representatives passed aid bills to Ukraine and Israel on April 20, 2024. (Nathan Posner)
However, Greene never attacked Johnson on Saturday afternoon, at least parliamentaryly. She verbally unloaded on Johnson to the Congressional press corps on the steps of the House of Representatives.
“He did this [expletive] here in the House of Representatives a foreign war package that does nothing for America,” Greene said.
He even spoke in almost biblical terms about the speaker. Greene did not invoke Peter’s three betrayals of Jesus, but did declare that his advancement of the foreign assistance program was “Mike Johnson’s third betrayal.” Greene said the other two were the passage of two major spending bills to avoid government shutdowns and a reauthorization of a key police spying tool known as FISA Section 702.
“I’m grateful that America can see who this man is,” Greene said. “He’s already an outgoing duck. If we have the vote today at our conference, he wouldn’t be the speaker today.”
However, Greene did not call the vote on Johnson. That move might have been extraordinary, especially considering that the House took the unprecedented step of stripping the gavel from former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., last fall.
So why didn’t Greene move?
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene speaks to the media after the House of Representatives passed aid bills to Ukraine and Israel on April 20, 2024. (Nathan Posner)
Some might say it’s all about math.
She would have lost.
House Democrats were coy about their plans to possibly protect Johnson. But after the House approved aid to Ukraine, Democrats likely would have supported Johnson by voting to introduce or kill Greene’s resolution. Or they may have “taken a walk” and were absent from the vote. Democratic absences would have reduced the total number of House members who voted. That would have diluted the votes of members who wanted to undermine Johnson.
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Knowing that, it’s easy to see why there was no vote over the weekend on Johnson’s viability as president. But in fact, there was a test vote.
It was not the kind of “no confidence” vote engineered by Greene to “clear the presidency” and cause tumult in the House, requiring another election for president. Instead, the House took a vote of “confidence” in Johnson: the vote on Ukraine.
While dozens of Republicans abandoned Johnson on the Ukraine measure, 193 Republicans voted “yes” on the bill to help Israel. And 186 Republicans voted on the combined bill to curb the use of TikTok in the US and impose sanctions on Iran. More Democrats than Republicans voted in favor of the bill to help Taiwan. But that bill still got 178 GOP approvals.
Dozens of Republicans abandoned Johnson on the Ukraine measure. But 193 Republicans voted yes on the bill to help Israel. (Getty Images)
So Johnson remains the speaker for now. He still has enemies in the House.
“I’m frustrated that the bill didn’t include border security,” said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas. “It’s incredibly stupid to leave that on the ground.”
Johnson’s opponents said they want to keep the speaker issue burning for weeks to come. They believe there will be a public uprising because of what Johnson did. They hope that will force the now calm Republicans to turn against him.
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“Honestly, it’s hard to defend [Johnson] “Right now,” said Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., one of eight House Republicans who voted to remove McCarthy from office last fall. “I definitely feel like there’s a deterioration in Republican leadership.”
Rep. Bob Good, chairman of the Freedom Caucus, R-Va., said many Republicans were suffering from buyer’s remorse over Johnson after the chaos of unseating McCarthy last year.
“I’m frustrated because there was no border security in the bill,” said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, outraged that the House moved ahead with aid to Ukraine. “It’s incredibly stupid to leave that on the ground.” (Getty Images)
“We had a fight. We had a process. We tried to select the speaker,” Good said. “We ended up selecting a candidate who failed us.”
Republicans spent 22 days trying to find a speaker after ousting McCarthy. In the process, they incinerated three other candidates before reaching Johnson: House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Louisiana, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio , and House Majority Leader Tom Emmer, R-Minn.
This is why House Republicans are exhausted by the constant chaos. Rep. Jake LaTurner, R-Kan., just announced that he will retire at the end of this term. LaTurner, 36, is only in his second term.
“I just don’t think we need that turmoil right now,” said Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn. “You don’t replace someone unless you reach a safe consensus.” [candidate] coming behind And we don’t.”
Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., admitted that Johnson’s support was “softening.” But Burchett added that “time heals.” However, he noted that “sometimes wounds open.”
When the GOP won the majority in the fall of 2022, many Republicans said they wanted the House to “do its will.” They wanted the members to be in charge, diminishing the power of the leadership. They loathed how former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., ran the House with an iron fist.
Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., admitted that Johnson’s support was “softening.” (Tom Williams)
But Republicans often find themselves in conflicting positions on how the House works. It’s a point that didn’t go unnoticed by House Republican Conference Vice Chairman Blake Moore, R-Utah.
“We wanted to give up power. We wanted to decentralize power,” Moore said. “But when things don’t go exactly the way [some members hope], they want the speaker to influence every ounce of power they have. He’s a bit of a double standard.”
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Translation: Some conservatives just want the House to “do their will” when it suits them.
In total, 311 House members voted in favor of the Ukraine bill; 366 voted in favor of Israel’s bill; 385 voted in favor of the Taiwan bill; and 360 members voted in favor of the TikTok/Iran sanctions bill. That’s more than two-thirds of the House on each bill and well above the threshold to even override a presidential veto if it were in play (certainly not the case here).
That’s why Johnson survives now. The House did its will. And Johnson was willing to let him have his way, even if it might undermine him later.
