GOP rep sends email to constituents detailing efforts to oust 'uninspiring Mike Johnson'

08 May 2024

One of the three cosponsors of the motion to vacate House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) just sent a lengthy email to his constituents attacking the speaker — primarily over his efforts to keep the government open and support Ukraine.

Aaron Fritschner — who is deputy chief of staff to Rep. Don Beyer (D-Virginia) — recently tweeted screenshots of an email Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) sent to constituents in his House district. Massie spent several paragraphs explaining why he was one of the three Republicans supporting the effort to remove Speaker Johnson from his position.

"As speaker, Mike Johnson has continually enlisted a majority of House Democrats to override House Republicans," Massie wrote. "Together, Speaker Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have revealed the existence of the uniparty that governs Washington, D.C."

"With this poor record, it comes as no surprise that House Democratic Leadership recently endorsed Speaker Johnson in writing," Massie continued, including a screenshot of a statement by top House Democrats laying out why they would vote to table the motion to vacate if it came to the floor. He then listed bullet points hypothesizing why Democrats want to make sure the speaker's gavel stays with Johnson.

"Why does Hakeem Jeffries want Mike Johnson as Speaker? Because the Democrats want: no action taken on the border, no conservative policy victories, more money for Ukraine, a Democratic House majority, an expanded Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation, no budget cuts [and former] President [Donald] Trump to lose in November."

"They know uninspiring Mike Johnson can deliver all of these things if he remains as Speaker," Massie added.

Massie's "uniparty" comment was also seen in a constituent email that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) sent on Monday, according to Fritschner. Greene wrote that while she only decided to introduce the motion "after much thought and consideration," she felt it necessary to hold Johnson "accountable for abandoning Republican voters" and "serving as the Hakeem Jeffries-endorsed Uniparty Speaker of the House."

Greene linked to a press conference she held with Massie, and said Johnson "is everything that is wrong with the Republican establishment in Washington."

"He has betrayed the Republican voters who gave us a majority in the House by giving Democrats everything on their wishlist," Greene wrote. "In our divided government, the Republican Speaker should be working to stop the radical Democrat agenda, not pass it."

So far, Greene's motion has not attracted any Republican support beyond Reps. Paul Gosar (R-Arizona) and Massie. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida), who led the push last fall with seven other Republicans to remove former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California), has previously said he wouldn't vote for Greene's motion.

While many House Democrats have said they would vote to protect Johnson if Greene actually brings her motion to the floor, they wouldn't do so a second time.

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