Despite threats to remove him, Speaker Johnson is moving ahead with foreign aid bills

Rep. Thomas Massie’s frustration with the House Freedom Caucus has a “damned” constituent, who isn’t

South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, said he respects Massie but disagrees with his support of the motion to vacate.

“The idea that someone would bring a vacate motion when we’re just here to do our jobs is ridiculous.” It is not helpful to the cause,” Johnson said. “We have to have a united front and we have to have our members work together.”

Johnson has a razor- thin majority and will lose one seat on Friday when Rep. Mike Gallagher’s retirement becomes effective. If Greene were to call for a vote, Johnson would likely need support from Democrats to keep the gavel.

“That’s what we’re focused on right now. We can’t control the theatrics of Marjorie Taylor Greene and the House Republican conference,” he said. “We don’t like the chaos and the dysfunction. We’ve traveled down this road before.

His comments come almost a month after Greene filed a motion to vacate resolution over disputes with the speaker on how he handled a $1.2 trillion appropriations package. The resolution is not known when it will be brought to the floor for a vote.

“If somebody calls in a motion to vacate on the floor, and it succeeds, which it will, now you have no speaker,” Massie said. “And then you have a temporary speaker and it’s a hot mess.”

Massie advocated that Johnson announce his resignation so that a new speaker could be elected and avoid the lengthy process that occurred when they elected Johnson as speaker.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., says he is co-sponsoring a resolution by Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, as frustration grows among blocs of conservative members at Johnson’s proposed foreign aid package.

Massie’s complaints with Johnson are steering things in a certain direction. “I mean, if the country likes Chuck Schumer, then they should like what Speaker Johnson’s accomplished in the House.”

The Kentucky Republican pointed to three areas where he feels Johnson has let his conference down: the latest spending package, the House’s renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that allows for warrantless surveillance of foreign nationals inside the U.S., and aid to Ukraine.

Clark said Democrats wanted a single House vote on the Senate’s foreign aid package, but would prefer to give assistance to Ukraine. She added that providing the $9 billion of humanitarian assistance to Gaza and other countries included in the Senate bill is a “red line.”

The minority doesn’t usually provide votes to pass the rules. Speaking to reporters Wednesday morning, Democratic House Whip Katherine Clark on Wednesday did not rule out Democrats supporting the rule in this case, but said her caucus needed to see the substance of the legislation first.

Roy wrote on social media that he would not vote for the rule because it is a watered down dangerous cover vote.

The motion could be defeated in the committee before it comes to the floor. Johnson’s razor-thin majority has almost no wiggle room on the floor.

Despite a threat of being ousted from his post, Speaker Mike Johnson is moving forward with a plan to vote on separate bills that would provide assistance to Ukrainian, Israel and US allies.

The plan is to introduce the three individual foreign aid bills; a fourth bill placing sanctions on Russia, China and Iran; and a fifth bill including border security measures, Johnson said in a message to House Republicans Wednesday. Bill text for the foreign aid bills was posted Wednesday afternoon.

The four bills related to foreign threats are being considered under one procedural “rule,” while the border bill will be considered under its own. The arrangement would make the border bill not work, said Rep. Norman, a member of the House Freedom Caucus.