Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Monday night issued a statement opposing the Senate's foreign aid bill and reaffirming his commitment to border security. Nevertheless, the foreign aid bill passed in the Senate in the very early morning hours on Tuesday, and some Senate Republicans aren't too happy with Johnson. The speaker is facing particular pressure to not go with such a bill, though, as House Republicans are warning of a motion to vacate the chair.
CNN's Manu Raju spoke with Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH), a member of the House Freedom Caucus, on Tuesday about how there have indeed been threats for a motion to vacate.
When asked "if the speaker were to put the Senate package on the floor, what would that mean for his ability to hold on to the gavel," Davidson noted Johnson "would need Democrats to hold on to the gavel at that point."
The congressman also pointed out that "multiple of my colleagues have already promised that," making clear "I believe that it's not an empty threat."
"And I -- you know, we'll see how it would resolve. But I think he would clearly need Democrats to be able to hold on to the gavel. If he went straight to the floor with a Senate package," Davidson continued. He wouldn't share if he would vote for or against ousting Johnson, noting "I don't like answering hypotheticals. But I do think that the question would get asked."
Rep. Warren Davidson told me that Mike Johnson would face a motion to vacate if he puts the Senate's $95B aid package on House floor.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) February 13, 2024
"He would need Democrats to hold onto the gavel at that point," Davidson said, adding that warnings from conservatives is "not an empty threat" pic.twitter.com/SECRnv4PBT
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Given how Johnson has been particularly demonized for being "MAGA" and even just for being a Christian and a conservative, it's not likely that House Democrats will look to save him. After all, not one of them saved now former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) when he was ousted last October.
House Democrats are looking to force a vote on the foreign aid bill using a discharge petition, which would take a majority of members plus one to sign. As narrow as the Republican majority may be, made more narrow by Rep. Elect Tom Suozzi's (D-NY) win to replace former Rep. George Santos (R-NY), it doesn't look like any Republicans are willing to sign on.
Raju also reminded Jake Tapper that such a move "is rarely successful," adding "it's a long sharp shot complicated effort, but one that Democrats will be discussing in the days ahead to try to get around Mike Johnson's opposition to this proposal."
A number of Republicans in swing districts and others who support Ukraine aid are indicating they’re not in favor of signing discharge petition, instead want to focus on changing the Senate package
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) February 14, 2024
President Joe Biden and his fellow Democrats have placed tremendous blame on Republicans, even former and potentially future President Donald Trump for his opposition to a bad bill that fails to secure the border. The president has made multiple addresses about the matter, including just recently on Tuesday.
In his interview with CNN, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) backed Johnson's opposition to not take up the bill, and, he revealed that Biden won't even meet with the speaker:
Scalise said that the Senate deal did not have any key policies from the Republican immigration bill that passed the House last year.
“That bill is still sitting over in the Senate, but those policies have to be part of any kind of deal,” Scalise said. “We’ve been clear from the beginning that you’ve got to actually focus on securing America’s border, especially when you’re talking about Ukraine.”
Scalise said that Johnson had requested a meeting with Biden on the border, but that the president had rejected it. “If the President really does want Ukraine funding, shouldn’t he be sitting down with the speaker now?” Scalise said.
Scalise said that an immigration bill was “not just about getting, you know, a few people in a room together and saying let’s pass a bill that we can all agree on” – a reference to the Senate’s negotiations, which included Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma.
So much for Biden looking to do something productive with all of his complaining. Then again, he's also claimed multiple times that he needs Congress to pass legislation to give him the authority to enforce the law and secure the southern border, which Johnson has called him out for. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas recently claimed the same about the president's authority on Sunday, and sure enough he's since been impeached.
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