Speaker Johnson insists House GOP is united despite defections on funding bill

House Speaker Mike Johnson says Republicans are “united,” but growing pushback on the spending bill he passed this week suggests otherwise.

Earlier this week, he pushed through a Continuing Resolution (CR) with support from Democrats and only 109 Republicans, with the remaining 106 voting against it.

Today, Congress voted to avert a crisis, a government shutdown, by passing Nancy Pelosi's budget for the fourth time.

I voted NO for the fourth time.

There are MANY real crises.

Ask the American people, they are not considering avoiding a government shutdown to avoid a crisis.

— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) January 18, 2024

Despite the overwhelming GOP opposition to the bill, Johnson remains adamant that Republicans are united.

“We are all united,” he said daily mail Friday. “People are frustrated that the government funding, the drug adjudication process has wasted so much time. I'm more frustrated than anyone, but we have to give this process time to develop.”

But are Republicans really united? It certainly doesn't seem like it, especially given how many high-profile Republicans, including nine committee chairs, voted against the bill.

Take House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik. Speaking to the Daily Mail, he expressed his displeasure with the bill due to “concerns” about the lack of border security measures.

“My northern border district has seen a staggering 550 per cent increase in arrests in the past year in the Swanton sector, which is why I am concerned about this week's continued resolution,” he said.

Other “no” votes came from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, Appropriations Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, National Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, and China Select Committee Chairman Mike Gallagher.

One of Johnson's fiercest critics has been Rep. Chip Roy, who on Thursday afternoon unloaded on the House floor about all the Democratic policies the CR supports.

Listen:

“It's GROUND DAY in the House chamber, all the time, every day. Once again, spending money we don't have!”

SO ON: Rep. Roy asks House GOP to oppose continuing resolution pic.twitter.com/HkPBwYUtoe

— Press Office of Rep. Chip Roy (@RepChipRoy) January 18, 2024

“They will vote to continue funding the radical progressive policies embedded in him,” he said. “You continue to fund the bureaucracy that is at war with the American people. Continue funding open borders. You continue to fund Alejandro Mayorkas, even as we try to remove him from the National Security Committee. We will fund it.”

“We're going to fund these open borders. We're going to fund the United Nations. We're going to fund the World Health Organization. We're going to fund UNRWA to give money to Palestinians who come to Hamas. And we're going to campaign against these things, but we're going to fund them . It's Groundhog Day in the chamber all the time, every day,” he added.

Former President Donald Trump has also been a critic, using his social media platform Truth Social to argue that Republicans should “absolutely” not agree to a border deal unless they get “everything necessary to shut down” the flow of illegal alien migrants across the country. US southern border.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, aka MTG#VacateTheChair trend reason explained here.

“… I told President Johnson that if he made this deal in exchange for $60 billion for Ukraine, I would leave the chair, and I still stand by those words.” pic.twitter.com/7WG5zE2HGe

— News Feed Watcher (@Newsfeedwatcher) January 19, 2024

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene agrees with the former president.

“He will be the presidential candidate,” he said, according to reports The Wall Street Journal. “It's time for all Republicans, in the Senate and the House, to get behind their policies. These are policies that we should reflect in our bills and in our votes in the House.”

It doesn't help that Johnson rejected an attempt to attach a GOP-crafted border security bill to the CR.

We had the opportunity to attach border security to the CR. It's what most people want, and yet we voted yesterday to give billions of dollars to Secretary Mayorkas to continue Biden's border invasion policies. pic.twitter.com/Yx3jGis2kR

— Congressman Bob Good (@RepBobGood) January 19, 2024

Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good was particularly upset by the rejection of the amendment.

“If you don't need our votes for material bills that matter to the country, like funding the government and our major spending packages, and you continue to pass those that are subject to suspension of the rules with predominantly Democratic votes, don't you do. Let's assume you're going to have our votes for messenger bills that don't matter, that make us feel better, but are dead on arrival in the Senate,” he told reporters.

Another critic was Representative Eli Crane.

“Our speaker, Mr. Johnson, said he was the most conservative speaker we've ever had, and yet here we are putting this bill on the floor this afternoon without any conservatives.” he said. “Talk is cheap. The American people deserve better.”

That said, despite that huge opposition, Rep. Matt Gaetz, the Republican responsible for ex-President Kevin McCarthy's ouster, believes Johnson is secure in his position, he said. Spectrum News.

“With McCarthy, he was not only making deals with Democrats, but the duplicitous nature,” he told CNN on Thursday. “He kept telling us one thing to do another and then having these deals negotiated off the script that apparently bound the House in the absence of any vote.”

Senior Staff Writer
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V. Saxena is a BizPac Review staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.

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