Mike Johnson plotted with a crucial – and maybe unexpected – source a few days after a far-right member placed his speakership on notice: fiery GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, the mastermind of the previous attempt to unseat a speaker. Sources familiar with the conversation claim that during a recent phone call, Gaetz—who is making it clear he is firmly in Johnson’s corner—advised the rookie speaker to put some conservative wins on the board over the coming weeks as he navigates the possibility of a potential motion to remove him from the speaker’s chair.
Mike Johnson’s Decision To Leave May Depend On Foreign Policy Issues
“I offered the speaker some uninvited counsel. that we must assume a fighting stance. Additionally, Gaetz expressed his satisfaction with the speaker’s implementation of such a suggestion in a CNN interview. “We should start putting wins on the board for House Republicans, as the speaker requests. I’m relieved that the speaker hasn’t brought up the $95 billion Ukraine supplemental that the Senate approved, and I believe he is now paving a better course on that matter. With a plethora of options at his disposal as speaker, Johnson can appease his right wing, which was enraged by the recent bipartisan budget agreement he brought to the House floor. However, Mike Johnson’s decision to hang up his speaker’s gavel may depend on how he responds to the next contentious foreign policy issue that arises: financing for Ukraine’s battle against Russia.
