REPORT: Plot To Oust Mike Johnson as House Speaker on Day 1 of 119th Congress

Mike Johnson was the surprising winner of the House leadership race when McCarthy resigned back in 2023, becoming the Speaker of the House a mere 7 years after his freshman year in Congress.

Initially, he came across as a principled Constitutionalist with a backbone.  But that image has been put to the test several times since, with many labeling Johnson as just another RINO willing to compromise on things that should never be compromised.

One such attempt to oust Johnson as Speaker, which ultimately failed like the others, came from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Johnson.

MTG moves to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson. pic.twitter.com/92S3djfXch

— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) May 8, 2024

Having faced several challenges to his leadership, Johnson has so far retained the leadership role in spite of several decisions that put him in the hot seat with MAGA conservatives and the freedom caucus in the House.

One reason for Johnson’s ability to withstand the attacks on his leadership may be the argument put forward by Matt Gaetz, decidedly not a fan of Johnson as Speaker.

Matt Getz explains why they can’t remove Mike Johnson.

Matt explaining that they are too worried that one of their own GOP members may take a bribe, skip the voting that day and hand over the Speakership to the Democrats is a sad, sad day for conservatives.

We are screwed pic.twitter.com/96nsmkut9C

— 👉M-Û-R-Č-H👈 (@TheEXECUTlONER_) April 20, 2024

That’s a dangerous, and unfortunate, reality to deal with.  Are there several republicans in the House who would find it in their interests to side with the democrats at the expense of their fellow republicans in the House? — without a doubt.

Nevertheless, Johnson must win a majority vote with the full House in session on Day 1 of the 119th Congress in order to remain Speaker of the House.  According to a recent report in Newsweek, Speaker Johnson currently has President Trump’s full support, even while dissension against him grows among Trump’s base.

Johnson faces a full House vote in the new year, where he will need the support of a majority of the full House, 218 votes, in order to continue on as speaker.

If Johnson does remain the speaker, he may enjoy a period of goodwill from Republicans eager to institutionalize President-elect Donald Trump’s second-term agenda.

Trump told House Republicans privately during his first trip back to Washington since the November 5 election, in which the GOP made sweeping gains, that he’s with Johnson all the way, according to the AP’s unnamed source.

Meanwhile, Johnson praised Trump, calling him the “comeback king.”

Johnson has embraced Trump’s agenda of mass deportations of illegal immigrants, tax cuts, cutting the federal workforce and a stronger U.S. image abroad.

Johnson has no serious challengers, but he has faced dissent within his ranks in the past, relying on Democrats to help him push through legislation at times.

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, unsuccessfully tried to oust Johnson earlier this year after after criticizing a $1.2 trillion spending package he pushed through.

With the opening day of the 119th Congress barely more than a month away, Republicans in the House freedom caucus are again pointing to Johnson’s willingness to compromise on things like the SAVE Act — which didn’t make it into the border bill pushed by democrats and Chuck Schumer just weeks before Election Day.

But conservatives in the House still aren’t convinced that Johnson is the right person for the job of pushing through President Trump’s agenda, according to a report by Raw Story.

Conservatives on Capitol Hill still aren’t sold on Speaker Mike Johnson.

While Johnson won the support of the House Republican Conference behind closed doors earlier this month, he’s still got to secure majority support on the floor of the House of Representatives on Jan. 3.

“The speaker’s got work to do. He’s got work to do,” a member of the far-right Freedom Caucus, who asked to remain anonymous so they could speak candidly, told Raw Story. “There are members who are thinking about whether they want to support him or not. He’s not there yet.”

While Johnson’s been spending more time with President-elect Donald Trump of late — including trips to Mar-a-Lago and attending a UFC fight with the former president — conservatives still aren’t convinced he’s the right GOP general to pass the party’s agenda.

“I wouldn’t honestly put too much into that. I think that’s just, you know, the president coming through on building goodwill with everybody, and I think that’s a smart approach for him,” the Freedom Caucus member continued. “Honestly, I think it’s more that members don’t see somebody who’s going to be strategic, make the right call, make timely calls.”

Former Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good (R-VA) lost his primary this year, but as he heads for the exits, he’s encouraging his colleagues to replace Johnson.

“He’s been an abysmal failure,” Good told Raw Story. “Speaker Johnson has failed by every measuring stick, if you’re a Republican, and so I think it would be a mistake to be voted in as speaker.”

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Like many Freedom Caucus members, Good doesn’t have much respect for Johnson.

“Speaker Johnson will be a pawn and just do whatever he’s told and whatever is in his best interest to be speaker. So he will do his best to be unified with President Trump’s agenda, because he wants to be speaker,” Good said. “Unfortunately, what President Trump needs is a strong speaker, an effective speaker who can help drive his agenda through the House.”

I agree there may be some merit to the argument put forward by that freedom caucus member regarding President Trump — that he is not eternally loyal to Speaker Johnson, but is simply building goodwill within the ranks of the House as it currently sits.

I have no doubt that President Trump would rather have a Speaker who isn’t so prone to compromise on things like the SAVE Act, expressly pushed by Trump, but dumped by Johnson with hardly a fight based on the excuse that it might have killed the bill entirely and given democrats something to blame on Trump before the election.

Hogwash.

But at the end of the day, President Trump’s top goal is dismantling the Deep State’s stranglehold on the country; and if he isn’t willing to work with the Speaker — whoever it is at the time — that will never happen.

As I stated up front, Mike Johnson initially came across as a hardcore Constitutionalist with uncompromising principles.  He was in fact solidly against FBI spying on Americans in terms of FISA reform, and the intel establishment interfering in our elections.

But something changed.  Check out this telling revelation made by Glenn Greenwald talking to Tucker Carlson just a few days ago about the radical flip-flop that Johnson seemingly exhibited after becoming Speaker.

Tucker Carlson — Intel Agencies, Blackmail, and Mike Johnson’s Shocking Flip-Flop on FISA Reforms

Mike Johnson…?

A. Blackmailed
B. They threatened him
C. Did exactly what Trump wanted
D. Something else (comment)

I’m a C… https://t.co/SDNvyx5enS pic.twitter.com/BO1XXsbbJN

— MJTruthUltra (@MJTruthUltra) November 21, 2024

That is an extraordinary shift for someone like Mike Johnson to make.  And the shocking effect it had on Greenwald who sat with him face-to-face before becoming Speaker, and then watching the reality of that flip-flop really tells the story — something altered Mike Johnson’s resolve.

Not his beliefs… but his resolve.  And that is why his ability to survive the full vote of the new House on January 3rd seems to be in more doubt than ever.

Here is another clip of Greenwald completely shocked, showing Johnson’s apparent shift from literally staying up at night concerned about the unchecked power of the intel community, to extending that power for them along with the democrats in Congress.

Rep. Mike Johnson in 2023: Says the unchecked power of intelligence agencies “keeps us up” at night.@SpeakerJohnson in 2024: Plots with the Biden administration to ensure these agencies can spy on Americans without a warrant.

What happened? 👇 pic.twitter.com/Z802kXzLUL

— System Update (@SystemUpdate_) May 1, 2024

It remains to be seen if Mike Johnson will be able to prove himself worthy of the Speakership position in the few weeks before the new Congress goes into session and decides his leadership fate.

One looming question — who would be his replacement?

Having watched the likes of John Thune take the reins of power in the Senate, the concern is that someone even worse than Johnson — with outright disdain for President Trump’s agenda — could end up winning the vote.

The next few weeks may prove crucial if Johnson is to convince enough Republicans, and the freedom caucus, to support his continued leadership in the House, and not hold his past compromises against him.