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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
Mike Johnson says he won’t resign amid right-wing backlash over
foreign aid to Ukraine
By Manu Raju, Melanie Zanona, Haley Talbot and Lauren Fox, CNN
Updated:
5:07 PM EDT, Tue April 16, 2024
A defiant House Speaker Mike Johnson, facing growing threats to his
speakership, said Tuesday he is not resigning and dismissed threats to
his gavel as “absurd” after a second Republican member of Congress
threatened to oust Johnson for his handling of legislation to send
foreign aid to Ukraine and Israel.
After Republican Rep. Thomas Massie said he would co-sponsor an effort
to oust Johnson from his job and called on him to resign, the Louisiana
Republican described himself as a “wartime speaker” in challenging
times.
“I am not resigning,” Johnson told reporters. “And it is, in my
view, an absurd notion that someone would bring a vacate motion when we
are simply here trying to do our jobs.”
Republican hardliners are growing angry at Johnson’s complex plan to
advance billions of dollars in foreign aid to Ukraine, Israel and
Taiwan.
Massie told Republican colleagues behind closed doors Tuesday morning
that he will cosponsor the motion to vacate Johnson from his position.
The comments highlight a significant escalation of the far right’s
threat to Johnson’s leadership that have dogged the Louisiana
Republican since Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia filed a
resolution to vacate the chair last month.
Massie was booed by his Republican colleagues after he made this
announcement, according to one of the sources, and then GOP Rep. Trent
Kelly of Mississippi stood up and criticized Massie, saying it’s
“wrong” to not back the speaker.
“I asked him to resign,” Massie told CNN after the meeting. “He
said he would not. And then I said, ‘Well, you’re the one who’s
going to put us into this,’ because the motion is going to get called
up. OK. Does anybody doubt that? The motion will get called up, and
then he’s going to lose more votes than (former House Speaker) Kevin
McCarthy, and I have told him this in private, like, weeks ago.”
Massie’s comments show how Johnson would likely need to rely on
Democratic votes to pass his foreign aid package – as well as
potentially to save his job – as Republicans control only a razor
thin majority, and efforts to send foreign aid to Ukraine have divided
the GOP.
Johnson, however, disputed Tuesday that he will have to rely on
Democratic support to save his job, insisting House Republicans “are
going to work this out.”
The text of the plan has not been released, so House Democrats are
still weighing whether to bail out Johnson – or stand up against it
and pressure Republicans to instead take up the $95 billion Senate
package that Johnson has sidelined for two months. House Democrats met
Tuesday morning.
The first problem for Johnson: Approving the rule that governs floor
debate, a procedural step that allows legislation to be passed by a
majority vote. For decades, these rules have been approved along
straight-party lines, but GOP divisions have derailed rules seven times
this Congress and stymied its agenda.
At least one Republican – Greene – said against the rule.
Several others told CNN they are still considering how they’d vote.
In making his announcement Monday, the Louisiana Republican predicted
the House will vote Friday evening on the separate bills. On Tuesday,
Johnson stood by that timeline, saying he aims to get his plan “on
the floor by the end of the week.”
In November, the House to provide $14.3 billion in aid to Israel,
but Democrats objected to the fact that the bill did not include aid
for Ukraine and would enact funding cuts to the Internal Revenue
Service.
The Senate in February – a $95.3 billion foreign aid bill with
assistance for Ukraine, Israel and other priorities.
This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.
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