Johnson’s comments come after Rep. Thomas Massie says he would co-sponsor Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s motion to vacate.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) says he has no plans to resign amid increased criticism from his House Republican conference.
“I am not resigning,” Mr. Johnson said defiantly during an April 16 House leadership press conference.
[Greene],” Mr. Massie wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Mr. Massie recommended that Mr. Johnson “pre-announce his resignation,” similar to the move undertaken by former House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) in 2015.
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“It is in my view an absurd notion that someone would bring a vacate motion,” Mr. Johnson said when asked about Mr. Massie’s call that he resign the top spot in the House.
“We are simply here trying to do our jobs. It is not helpful to the cause and it is not helpful to the country.”
Such a move “does not help the House Republicans advance our agenda, which is in the best interest of the American people,” Mr. Johnson said.
Specifically, Mr. Johnson said that Republicans are in an “existential” struggle against Democrats who “envision that America should be remade in the form of some sort of European style socialist utopia.”
Instead of trying to oust him, Mr. Johnson said that Republicans’ attention should be focused entirely on the upcoming election, including expanding the GOP House majority, reclaiming the Senate, and putting former President Donald Trump back in the White House.
“We have to have our members work together,” he said.
He noted that he had received moral support a few days earlier from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), who said “this is the hardest challenge that’s faced a speaker probably in the history of the country.”
Mr. Massie’s warning that he’ll join Ms. Greene’s effort to oust him is an ominous development for Mr. Johnson.
Currently, Republicans can spare only two votes—a number that will soon fall to one when Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) resigns later this month.
With those margins, Mr. Massie and Ms. Greene could easily succeed in their effort to oust a second speaker unless Democrats come to Mr. Johnson’s rescue.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has suggested this could happen.
During a press conference last week, Mr. Jeffries said: “If the speaker will do the right thing and allow the House to have an up or down vote on the national security bill, I believe that there are a reasonable number of Democrats who would not want to see the speaker fall.”
Several Democrats, including former House Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), have said that they would protect Mr. Johnson if instructed to do so by Mr. Jeffries.
Original News Source Link – Epoch Times
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