Democrats weigh helping Johnson save House speaker job
WASHINGTON — Some Democrats are entertaining the prospect of coming to House Speaker Mike Johnson's rescue should Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., force a vote seeking his ouster, though it will likely depend on his ability to deliver an emergency aid package focused on Ukraine and Israel.
Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York has suggested that Democrats would help Johnson if the speaker faced retribution from within his own party for holding votes on the $95.3 billion package. But he's also encouraging his colleagues to take a wait-and-see approach to apply maximum leverage.
“Do not box yourself in with a public statement,” Massachusetts Rep. Katherine Clark, the No. 2ranking House Democratic leader, told colleagues in a closed-door session Thursday, according to a person familiar with the private remarks.
Still, Johnson's future been a much discussed topic on Capitol Hill.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., said if the aid package makes it over the finish line, “I think a lot of people are not going to want to punish him for doing the right thing.”
Greene has threatened to try to oust Johnson and warned that advancing funding for Ukraine would help build her case that GOP lawmakers should select a new speaker. Rep. Thomas Massie, RKy., tweeted this week that he told Johnson during a closed-door Republican conference meeting that he would be co-sponsoring Greene's motion. Massie suggested Johnson “should pre-announce his resignation” and give Republicans time to select a successor.
The vast majority of Republicans are distancing themselves from Greene's effort, wary of repeating the chaos the House endured last fall when eight Republicans joined with Democrats in removing then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., from the post. It's likely that Johnson would not need a large number of Democratic lawmakers to help him remain in the speaker's office, but it would depend on how many Republicans voted to remove him.
Rep. Scott Peters, DCalif., said that if Johnson would put the Senatepassed measure on the floor, “I would do what I had to do to make sure he does not lose his job for that.” Johnson made the decision to take the Senate measure and break it into three separate bills. He's also added a fourth bill focused on national security priorities.
Breaking up the package into parts gives lawmakers the ability to vote against military assistance to Ukraine or Israel without tanking the entire measure.
Johnson said he has not asked a single Democrat to “get involved in that at all” when asked about a possible motion to vacate.
“I do not spend time walking around thinking about the motion to vacate,” Johnson said. “I have a job to do here and I'm going to do the job, regardless of personal consequences.”
Rep. Brendan Boyle, DPa., said he would consider voting present during a speaker vote if Johnson allowed the Ukraine aid to be voted on.
“Why in the world would I want to go along with Marjorie Taylor Greene if Mike Johnson just gave us a vote I've been advocating for for more than six months?” Boyle said. “I think a number of Democrats would be in the same position — not necessarily a vote for him, but just make clear this is a Republican issue and we're not going to aid and abet Marjorie Taylor Greene to cause even more chaos.”
“I hope he will have some sort of conversation with Hakeem, but either way, yes, I'm one of those who would save him if we can do Israel, Taiwan, Ukraine and some reasonable border security,” said Rep. Henry Cuellar, DTexas.