Speaker Mike Johnson, R-L.A., has found himself in the crosshairs of conservative lawmakers as he prepares to pass a rule for the foreign aid package using Democratic Party support — a move that critics called “unprecedented” and a clear indication of the “Uniparty” at work.
Embattled Speaker Johnson has effective handed control of the U.S. House to Democrats, critics said.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-K.Y., blasted Johnson’s move on Thursday after moderate Republicans relied on Democrats to bring to the House floor four spending bills providing aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, as well as one involving TikTok.
There is no additional funding bill to help stop the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border coming to the House floor.
Massie, who has joined Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s, R-G.A., motion to remove Johnson as speaker, pulled no punches in his criticism of the Speaker’s actions.
“Unprecedented: Speaker Johnson plans to pass the rule for the $100 billion foreign aid package using Democrats on the Rules Committee. Is he working for Democrats or Republicans now?” Massie tweeted, adding, “This is the Uniparty ‘reveal.'”
This is the Uniparty “reveal.”
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) April 18, 2024
Rep. Jim Banks, R-I.N., echoed Massie’s criticisms, and said that it has “never happened before that minority party has carried a rule vote.”
Meanwhile, Johnson has been grappling with the House rule allowing a Motion to Vacate from a single member, which he said has “harmed this office and our House majority.”
In a carefully worded statement released on Thursday, Johnson stopped short of explicitly asking Democrats to pass a rule change to help him keep his office — but he made it clear that he opposes the current rules and understands “the importance of that idea” of changing them.
Greene took to social media to hammer Johnson over his negotiations with Democrats, saying it was “proof that Speaker Johnson is negotiating with AOC and Democrats to give them everything they want. He’s making a deal with Democrats to save his speakership by changing the threshold on the Motion to Vacate. Mike Johnson = Democrat Speaker (Nancy Pelosi).”
Proof that Speaker Johnson is negotiating with AOC and Democrats to give them everything they want.
He’s making a deal with Democrats to save his speakership by changing the threshold on the Motion to Vacate.
Mike Johnson = Democrat Speaker (Nancy Pelosi) https://t.co/CP40QNpjsr
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) April 18, 2024
As the situation unfolds, it becomes clear that the political games being played in Washington are as convoluted and self-serving as ever.
Speaker Mike Johnson, once hailed as a champion of conservative values, now finds himself at odds with the far-Right wing of his party — just like former Rep. Kevin McCarthy.
Will he give control to Democrats to save his own skin?
Stephen Dietrich is the publisher of The Horn News