'Threatening firebrands' and 'Rules Committee rebels': Johnson struggles to tame 'GOP factions'

19 February 2024

Just over three months into his role, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) continues to face criticism from fellow GOP members — and even threats of his ouster — if he doesn't meet the party's policy priorities.

According to a Monday, February 19 report by Politico reporters Jordan Carney and Olivia Beavers, the House GOP "will likely only split further as Johnson tries to navigate a litany of challenges this year while dealing with an even smaller majority than he inherited. Those obstacles include twin government funding deadlines, a twice-punted surveillance fight and growing concerns that Republicans are poised to lose House control in November."

Carney and Beavers broke down Johnson's opposition into five "GOP factions."

First, the "threatening firebrands" group includes Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who warns that she'll "challenge Johnson if he moves forward with certain votes she opposes," and Warren Davidson (R-OH), who said during an interview last week, "Johnson would face an ouster vote if he put the Senate-passed national security supplemental — that includes aid for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan but no border provisions — on the floor for a vote."

Second, 'the tired centrists,' which includes "a group of New York Republicans from districts won by President Joe Biden," who "helped block a spending bill, led the effort to oust former Rep. George Santos, and threatened to take down a rule last month as they tried to force Johnson to cut a deal with them on the state and local tax (SALT) deduction."

Third, 'the critical conservatives' like "Freedom Caucus Chair Rep. Bob Good (R-VA), who has warned that Johnson leapfrogging them on must-pass bills by leaning on Democratic support will have consequences," and Reps. Ken Buck (R-CO) and Tom McClintock (R-CA), who each "played a large role in temporarily snagging Johnson’s drive to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, leading to an embarrassing flop on the floor before a successful second attempt."

The fourth group, 'the McCarthy allies,' include Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) andUS Rep. Patrick McHenry, (R-NC) who said, "I think you see many House Republicans that took out McCarthy recognize that we’re in a much worse public policy position now. … We’ve got less done in terms of oversight as a result of this. And our political position is weaker."

Lastly, the 'Rules Committee rebels' group is a result of McCarthy's leadership. Carney and Beavers note that the California lawmaker appointed several Republican House members to "the influential Rules Committee" a year ago — "giving some of his most rebellious members huge new sway over what bills can be brought to the floor."

The pair reports "Johnson inherited that headache" — which included Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX), Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Ralph Norman (R-SC) — "and didn’t make changes to the panel when he took over in October." This group, Carney and Beavers emphasize, "has led Johnson to surpass the panel on critical legislation like funding the government and a tax deal, bringing bills straight to the floor under another process that requires a two-thirds threshold."

Carney and Beavers' full report is here.

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