Posted on 12/24/2024 5:03:36 AM PST by george76
House Democrats are sending an early warning signal to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) that he shouldn't count on them to rescue him again.
Why it matters: Johnson will have the barest of majorities next year — and he's staring down growing unrest within the Republican conference.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) has said he will vote against Johnson's reelection as speaker on Jan. 3, with several other Republicans saying they are undecided.
With a majority as narrow as 219-215, Johnson may only be able to afford to lose one vote.
State of play: Johnson last week abandoned a federal funding package he negotiated with Democrats and introduced a pared-down version with a debt limit extension demanded by President-elect Trump.
House Democrats bitterly accused Johnson of going back on his word and declared themselves a "hell no" on the revised version of the bill.
Johnson eventually succeeded in passing a version of the bill without a debt ceiling increase, but the damage was already done.
Driving the news: At a caucus meeting on Friday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) signaled to his members that relations with Johnson had entered a new, significantly worsened phase.
He pointed to Johnson reversing on the funding deal and letting communications go dark at times during the week, according to three lawmakers and a fourth source present for his remarks.
House Democratic caucus chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) said that he will not personally ask Democrats to bail out Johnson going forward as they did in May.
Jeffries said Sunday on MSNBC's "Inside with Jen Psaki" there is a "real risk" of Johnson failing to become speaker on Jan. 3, and that "there will be no Democrats available to save him."
What they're saying: More than half a dozen House Democrats who voted to bail out Johnson in May told Axios on Sunday that they agree with Jeffries that Johnson can no longer count on their votes.
"I will follow leadership," said Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), one of the party's most centrist members.
Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), another arch-centrist, told Axios of the speaker election: "I'm voting for Hakeem Jeffries."
"He is correct," Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) said of Jeffries' comments on MSNBC.
Zoom in: Johnson's reelection bid is currently backed by Trump and his conference unanimously renominated him for speaker last month, but even if he wins in January he will face the challenge of keeping his gavel.
House Republicans increased the threshold for introducing a "motion to vacate" — a measure to remove the speaker — but any nine lawmakers would still be able to force such a vote.
And Johnson is facing growing anger from both his right flank and the GOP's right-wing grassroots outside of Congress, who are demanding he do more to cut government spending.
Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas), who is undecided on voting for Johnson, told Axios last week the speaker will need to rely on Democratic votes to keep his job.
What we're hearing: "I have thought multiple times that I would help Johnson in a tough Speaker vote because he was true to his word even in hard times," said one swing-district House Democrat.
"That has absolutely changed now. Trust is all we have in these negotiations. I thought Johnson was truly different. He's no better than McCarthy. He's getting no help from me and I know many of my colleagues feel the same."
Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.), a progressive who voted against ousting Johnson in May, told Axios: "He has betrayed our trust and we will never trust him again to hold to any agreement."
The bottom line: "It's up to the Republicans to lead on governance now," said Stevens, noting that Democrats were voted fully out of power in November.
"If they need us they have to really make it worth our while, but [it] doesn't seem likely that they will," she added.
Buh-bye!
Massie is one of the best men in all of congress, right up there with Rand Paul and Mike Lee. It’s a shame we don’t have a couple hundred more like him.
hubris but telling nonetheless
He was in a position to unilaterally block the Biden-McCarthy deal in the spring of 2023 to suspend the debt ceiling through 2024 as the deciding vote on the measure in the House Rules Committee.
This is a guy who has made a career out of sanctimoniously whining about fiscal irresponsibility, and literally walks around with a stupid clock that tracks the federal debt to make his point. But when he was in a position to actually do something about it, he had the fortitude of a wet noodle and caved.
He ought to run for House Speaker himself. He wouldn’t get more than five Republicans to vote for him.
I nominate Beyoncé.
johnson is merely a back-stabbing limp noodle.
So is Mike Lee with his insatiable appetite for importing H1B Indians to depress wages in tech.
As was noted on other posts, the Speaker of the House does not have to be a member of the House.
They won’t do it, of course. No chance at all. But it sure would be interesting if the GOP looked for candidates who weren’t members. Someone smart, conservative, personable, and tough as nails.
The first person to come to mind is, well, me. But I don’t have a shot. Maybe someone like Mark Steyn?
When Trump releases the Epstein guest list and the slush fund list, sure it is going to vacate a lot of seats from both parties
Republicans in Congress need to act like Democrats and vote enblock
This reads like Johnson stabbed the democrats in the back and they're the aggrieved party (poor democrats) - when in actual matter of fact he dropped a nuke on HIS OWN PARTY trying to stuff porkulous down their throats at the eleventh hour.
DOGE and X to the rescue!
This chump can't be gone too soon. Eventually the republicans will find and install a leader with a spine and who is true to his party and its ideals. Maybe. Well, I can hope...
If you vote for that fanatic Jeffries for Speaker then you aren’t a Centrist.
Once the demoncraps mark you as their b*tch, there’s no recovery from that. Johnson has to go.
He worked with the democrats on a budget that assumed they would win the presidency. FAFO.
So, if Johnson isn’t to be Speaker, who should/can be? The problem with the R party in both houses is that they are controlled by establishment republicans with a few RINOS thrown in. MAGA republicans are a minority. Republican majorities in both chambers are super slim. In light of these realities, it’s unlikely that the House will vote in a MAGA speaker. So, what republican, better than Johnson, can be elected Speaker?
True, but it's not quite as apparent, thanks to Ozempic?
“So, what republican, better than Johnson, can be elected Speaker?”
Byron Donalds?
Nancy Mace?
Nancy Mace assumed office as the U.S. representative for South Carolina’s 1st congressional district in 2021, the first Republican woman elected to Congress from South Carolina
Macy was born December 4, 1977, at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, the daughter of a United States Army officer. In 1999, Mace became the first woman to graduate from The Citadel’s Corps of Cadets program with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. She also earned a master’s degree is journalism and mass communication from the Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia. In 2008, Mace started a public relations and consulting firm. She was also co-owner of the website FITSNews, but sold her stake in 2013.
In 2012, Mace volunteered for the campaign of presidential candidate Ron Paul. In 2014, she ran for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in South Carolina, losing in the primary. In 2017, she was a special election for the 99th district in the South Carolina House of Representatives, and was elected to a full term in 2018.
https://awpc.cattcenter.iastate.edu/directory/nancy-mace/
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