Saving Johnson’s speakership may be 'consequential' for Republicans facing tough primary races
If Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's (R-Georgia) motion to oust Rep. Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) as speaker comes up for a full House vote, it's entirely possible that the motion will be defeated along bipartisan lines.
Lawmakers who have voiced their opposition to ousting Johnson range from far-right House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) to prominent Democrats such as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York), Rep. Ro Khanna (D-California) and Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-California). These Democrats have all said that despite their policy differences with Johnson, they believe he bargained in good faith during recent negotiations on a foreign aid bill — and therefore, deserves to remain in the speaker position.
Semafor's Kadia Goba, in an article published on May 1, examines the political fallout that House Republicans might experience in red districts if they vote against ousting Johnson.
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Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) has joined Greene in supporting a "motion to vacate" against Johnson.
When Massie was asked if a vote against ousting Johnson could hurt Republicans in their districts, the Kentucky lawmaker responded, "I think it could. There's some primaries that still haven't settled out yet, and I think it could be consequential in those."
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Nebraska) is among the House Republicans who is facing a primary challenge.
Yet according to Goba, he is adamant about voting to keep Johnson as speaker. And Bacon described Greene and Massie as "just two people being dumb and hurting the whole team."
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Rep. Bob Good (R-Virginia), who chairs the House Freedom Caucus and is also facing a primary challenge, openly opposes Greene's "motion to vacate."
Goba quotes Good as saying, "We have a three-vote margin. We should be focused on reelecting President Trump. This does not help President Trump."
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Read Semafor's full article at this link.
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