Far-right House Republicans expressed frustration after newly elected House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., moved to avoid a government shutdown by passing a stopgap funding bill with Democratic support on Tuesday.
The bill, which is meant to fund parts of the government through most of the winter, was largely passed as the result of support from Democrats, in a 336 to 95 vote, a fact that incensed the House's far-right Freedom Caucus. As HuffPost reported, Johnson suspended the rules procedure, typically used for legislation with sweeping bipartisan support, as a way to get around the House Rules Committee and GOP threats to block a floor vote.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, was among the conservatives who opposed Johnson's two-step stopgap bill, calling the suspension "asinine."
“We’ll see," he said to reporters when asked if the caucus would retaliate against Johnson the same way they ousted former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. "I tend to try to give people grace. I gave Kevin grace, I give Mike grace. Tough job. But I strongly disagree with this play call.”
Roy also indicated that Johnson's most recent move may preclude him from supporting the House Speaker in the future.
“It’s hard to fundraise and vote for certain things when you’re getting rolled on other things,” he said.
"Americans gave House Republicans the majority to champion fiscal responsibility," tweeted Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga. "We cannot surrender in the fight to save our nation’s financial future."
Disgraced former White House adviser Steve Bannon accused Johnson of "abject surrender," arguing on social media platform GETTR that the House Speaker is "without any coherent plan" and claiming that his bill was "worse than unacceptable."
We need your help to stay independent
"This don't feel like a victory today, bro," Bannon said, observing how Johnson's office had directed all incoming calls to voicemail after voting took place. "When 209 Hakeem Jeffries-loving Democrats vote for something, it just doesn't feel like a victory. I'm not feeling victorious right now. I kind of got this righteous indignation."
"I think we need to educate Johnson," he added. "We're going to start revelations. We are either going to fight or we're just going to go, 'I need 75 days.' You don't need 75 minutes! This was not brain surgery."
Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course.
Johnson pushed back on the far-right narrative on Tuesday.
“We’re not surrendering, we’re fighting. But you have to be wise about choosing the fights,” Johnson said at a press conference, adding that he's not concerned that he will be ousted like McCarthy. “I’m not concerned about it at all,” Johnson said. “Kevin should take no blame for that. Kevin was in a very difficult situation when that happened. This is a different situation.”
But MSNBC host Rachel Maddow predicted that Johnson's time as speaker may be limited amid the far-right revolt.
"I’m sure Mr. Johnson is very smart and capable and knows exactly what he’s doing," Maddow told Stephen Colbert on Tuesday. "But he got this job because the previous guy was driven with pitchforks and torches for having had the temerity to speak to political opponents rather than just wishing them dead. And now he needs his political opponents in order to keep his job. I just, we all know how this ends! This is not a party that is trying to govern."
Shares