Liberal Washington Post (“Speaker Johnson moves on foreign aid, possibly triggering vote to oust him”):
House Speaker Mike Johnson is plowing ahead on a foreign aid plan that has roiled his conference and prompted two Republicans to push an effort to oust him from the chamber’s top job.
But instead of the complex four-part plan he floated this week, Johnson now intends to try to pass five bills — one each for aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Indo-Pacific allies, as well as a GOP wish list of foreign policy priorities and a fifth stand-alone bill to address widespread Republican demands to strengthen the southern U.S. border. GOP leadership announced that the House would stay in session until Saturday to consider the bills.
The new approach is risky and is already blowing up on the speaker, whose six-month-old hold on the gavel is being threatened by a promise by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) to invoke a “motion to vacate” to topple Johnson (R-La.) if he puts Ukraine aid on the floor, something to which many hard-right Republicans object.
Greene said Wednesday night she wouldn’t interrupt the process on the aid package by bringing up the move to oust Johnson. But she also refused to commit to doing so afterwards.
At a Wednesday evening news conference, Johnson was visibly emotional when asked about why he had opted to try to pass the foreign aid package at this moment.
“Listen, my philosophy is you do the right thing and you let the chips fall where they may. … If I operated out of fear over a motion to vacate, I would never be able to do my job,” he said. “This is a critical time right now. … I can make a selfish decision and do something that’s different. But I’m doing here what I believe to be the right thing.”
The stakes are indeed high for the speaker as he works to navigate a bitterly divided Republican conference. Some members are loudly opposed to Ukraine aid without first securing the U.S. border, while others believe that aid, along with money for Israel, is a critical national security priority; in addition, some Republicans question the speaker’s leadership style. For Johnson, it’s a Catch-22: Consider aid to Ukraine, and a move to wrest his gavel is bound to follow.
Demoralized Republicans exited a four-hour meeting of Johnson and his allies Tuesday night, before the release of the latest proposal, having failed to chart a path on foreign aid that would be carried by Republicans instead of reliant on Democrats. Multiple people familiar with the meeting, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal dynamics, said the session enlightened them and Johnson about the consequences of moving the foreign aid package: It could all lead to his ouster from the job.
“The battle lines were very clear at the end,” one Republican said. “It was very clear [the motion to vacate] will be brought if the speaker’s plan proceeds.”
Even so, Johnson acted, telling Republicans in atext to colleagues Wednesday morning that after “significant Member feedback and discussion” this week, the House would move ahead with his plan, with some significant changes. He released the text of legislation on aid for Ukraine, Israel, Indo-Pacific allies, border security, and other foreign policy priorities Wednesday.
But in signs of trouble late Wednesday, the House Rules Committee failed to approve the border security bill because three Republicans on the panel — Reps. Chip Roy (R-Tex.), Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), and Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) — refused to support it, meaning the panel adjourned without action. Democrats have no interest in backing the GOP border proposal.
The three separate bills that fund military aid for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan largely mirror the $95 billion Senate-passed national security supplemental. The House legislation turns a portion of the aid, the money sent directly to Ukraine, into a loan and is endorsed by former president Donald Trump. It also includes just over $9 billion in humanitarian aid for Gaza, the West Bank, Ukraine and other places in need,which Democrats have demanded as a condition of any support from them.
AP (“House’s Ukraine, Israel aid package gains Biden’s support as Speaker Johnson fights to keep his job“) adds:
President Joe Biden said Wednesday he strongly supports a proposal from Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson to provide aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending crucial bipartisan support to the precarious effort to approve $95 billion in funding for the U.S. allies this week.
Before potential weekend voting, Johnson was facing a choice between potentially losing his job and aiding Ukraine. He notified lawmakers earlier Wednesday that he would forge ahead despite growing anger from his right flank. Shortly after Johnson released the aid proposals, the Democratic president offered his emphatic support for the package.
“The House must pass the package this week, and the Senate should quickly follow,” Biden said. “I will sign this into law immediately to send a message to the world: We stand with our friends, and we won’t let Iran or Russia succeed.”
[…]
The bulk of the money for Ukraine would go to purchasing weapons and ammunitions from U.S. defense manufacturers. Johnson is also proposing that $9 billion of economic assistance for Kyiv be structured as forgivable loans, along with greater oversight on military aid, but the decision to support Ukraine at all has angered populist conservatives in the House and given new energy to a threat to remove him from the speaker’s office.
Casting himself as a “Reagan Republican,” Johnson told reporters: “Look, history judges us for what we do. This is a critical time right now.”
Why anyone would take the Speaker job under current circumstances is hard to fathom. I guess it looks good on one’s CV.
Regardless, Johnson is doing about as well as possible here. At this point, he’s practically daring the crazies to oust him. But the GOP margin is incredibly thin and it’s not at all clear who would succeed him. Further, he seems to be doing much better than his predecessor in working with the Democratic leadership whose votes he needs to get anything done.
UPDATE: Taegan Goddard (“GOP Mulls Changes to Make It Harder to Boot Johnson“):
“Top House Republican leaders and aides are privately discussing using the debate over the $95 billion foreign aid package to make it harder to oust Speaker Mike Johnson. This comes as Johnson faces another uprising from his right,” Punchbowl News reports.
“Right now, any member can file a motion to vacate the chair, which triggers a potential snap referendum on the speaker. This was how hardliners ousted former Speaker Kevin McCarthy in October. And Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has filed such a motion against Johnson, although she hasn’t sought a vote yet.”
“With Johnson getting hefty opposition from the House Freedom Caucus and other conservatives over the foreign aid package, the GOP leadership is discussing embedding language in the rule for debating the legislation that would raise the threshold needed to file motions to vacate.”
Interesting. And certainly long overdue. The rule is nuts.
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Author: James Joyner
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