GOP Rep. Roy on Speaker Johnson: ‘I Don’t Believe He Has the Votes’

[mystery-ak]

GOP Rep. Roy on Speaker Johnson: ‘I Don’t Believe He Has the Votes’

Pam Key 31 Dec 2024

Representative Chip Roy (R-TX) said Tuesday on Fox Business Network’s “Varney & Co.” that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) did not have the votes to keep the position.

Roy said, “I remain undecided, as do a number of my colleagues because we saw so many of the failures last year that we are concerned about that might limit or inhibit our ability to advance the president’s agenda.”

He continued, “We violated the 72-hour rule twice, which means we didn’t have time to read a bill. We had to have Elon and Vivek and the president and JD come in to kill a 1,500-page monstrosity, cut it down to 100 pages. It still spent $110 billion unpaid for.”

Roy added, “Right now, I don’t believe he has the votes on Friday. I think we need to get the conference together so we can get united. People say, well, Chip, who would you choose otherwise? Mike’s a friend and maybe he can answer the call and deliver an agenda and a plan. Byron Donalds is a good man and a good friend. I nominated him two years ago. Jim Jordan’s a good man and a good friend. There are other members of leadership in the conference who could do the job.  What we need to do is unite around a plan for the president.  The failure before Christmas, I cannot overstate, it’s a glimpse to come if we don’t organize the conference to be able to deliver for the American people. We are not going to be able to bend on the things that matter. We must cut spending if you want inflation to go down and for people to afford to live in this country.”

https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2024/12/31/gop-rep-roy-on-speaker-johnson-i-dont-believe-he-has-the-votes/

[corbe]

    He doesn't have to worry about the Trumper Vote, that's for sure.  I'm 4 blocks away from his District, I get Lloyd Doggett.

[Hoodat]

There has to be a penalty for betraying your constituents.  Johnson needs to decide on which party he serves.  He's had 14 months to submit a budget.  Instead, he's given us $2.5 trillion in new debt.

[corbe]

   Since they won't vote for a Conservative Speaker from 'The Freedom Caucus'.  They will pick someone worse than Johnson, after 10 votes, with Trump's endorsement.

 

[Hoodat]

If you want to drain the Swamp, then you can start by choosing a Speaker who is not part of the Swamp.  Someone like Mark Levin.  The problem is that we have a President who doesn't want to drain the Swamp.  He wants the Swamp to worship him.

[corbe]

   Rep Massie responds to Newts challenge about the end game in not voting for Speaker Johnson.

Challenge accepted.

First let me note that the “vote for Mike” camp is not trying to make the case that Mike Johnson is endowed with the qualities necessary to lead our conference. Even you have limited yourself here to procedural justifications for his speakership rather than telling us why he is a good or capable leader.

Even if Mike’s entire goal is to do everything Trump wants without debate or question (which I would argue is not healthy for the institution of Congress), he’s not going to be good at it. He already demonstrated this month that he won’t tell the President what is achievable and what is not achievable in the House, and he lacks the situational awareness himself to know what can pass and what cannot.

1. “What do we hope to gain?”
A competent Speaker who has the will and the ability to capitalize on this once in a decade opportunity. Johnson is not up for this task. Also, we want a Speaker who inspires the public and who can make our case in the media, so we can keep the majority for the second half of Trump’s term. Johnson nearly led us to the minority in what was a banner year for Trump. He is certain to lose us the majority in 2026.

2. “No one can get more votes.”
It’s somewhat ridiculous to assert that Mike Johnson is the only member of Congress electable to Speaker. He was only electable the first time because he hadn’t held any type of leadership position, nor had he ever fought for anything, so no one disliked him and everyone was tired of voting. He won by being the least objectionable candidate, and he no longer possesses that title.

3. “Risk crippling Trump’s win.”
This is argument is a scare tactic, meant to stampede the masses, plain and simple. There is no legal or parliamentary argument for nullifying the national election if a speaker is not in place on January 6th.

4. “They are allies of the democrats”
Actually it is Mike Johnson who routinely passes major legislation (Ukraine, Omnibus, FISA spying) with only a minority of republicans, and relying on most democrats. He also owes his current speakership to the democrats. Here’s the roll call for the motion to table the motion to vacate last summer. Pelosi and Jeffries teamed up to save Johnson:
https://clerk.house.gov/evs/2024/roll188.xml

In closing, the emperor has no clothes and the entire conference knows it but few will say it. The general public knows it too. Please don’t shoot the messengers.