Mike Johnson will probably be safe during the election, says one of his GOP detractors

WASHINGTON — Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., has been the most avid ally in Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s quest to unseat House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. He voted with her to force Johnson from office and predicted that the Louisianan’s gavel was about to be taken away.

But now things have changed. Massie believes that after Democrats joined the majority of Republicans to protect Johnson, the Speaker of the House is secure in his position, at least until the November 5 elections.

“I don’t see it coming back. I think it’s done,” Massie said in an interview as the House adjourned Wednesday for a long weekend.

He said if Republicans win the presidential election and maintain their majority in the House, GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump will influence whether Johnson keeps his seat next year.

“In practice, a lot of this depends on Trump,” he said.

But Massie said he is a hard no for Johnson as speaker of the House.

“Hell or high water, I won’t vote for him,” the congressman said.

Massie’s comments could mean an end to the push to remove Johnson this year after the Kentucky Republican foreseen he would be unemployed. Greene led the charge to depose him in March after Johnson struck deals with Democrats to fund the government and approve aid to Ukraine and Israel. She forced a vote on May 8, which Johnson’s allies immediately approved. This happened by a vote of 359 to 43, after a majority of Democrats joined a majority of Republicans to effectively protect Johnson. Only 10 Republican lawmakers voted with Greene to remove him.

The effort has since fizzled, struggling to gain support. And with few major bills expected to pass Congress before the election, many Republicans — including Johnson skeptics — say they don’t see much advantage in replacing him now. Unless something fundamentally changes, Johnson’s hammer appears safe this year.

Any member can force a vote on a motion to vacate, but a majority of the House would need to agree to remove the president. Greene has not said if or when he will bring up the subject again. Her office did not comment on what Massie said, but pointed to recent comments she made accusing Johnson of failing to use his power to crack down on what she called an “invasion” of migrants.

“Mike Johnson still hasn’t figured out how to use the power of the purse,” Greene wrote Tuesday on X. “Republicans can never seem to figure out how to use the power the American people have given us.”

Greene too he said this week she will pressure Johnson to impeach President Joe Biden and question whether he really supports Donald Trump, who has stayed away from the speaker’s battle by praising Johnson and Greene. Biden’s impeachment inquiry has foundered as GOP investigators struggle to find evidence of wrongdoing and an escape route.