Johnson: Republicans ‘don’t have a working majority’ in the House

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) joined Jesse Watters on Wednesday to discuss the massive foreign aid package that recently passed both chambers and the difficulties Republicans have faced in getting the approval of immigration-related reforms with a Democratic Senate and President Biden in office.

“Listen, we are dealing with the smallest majority in U.S. history. We have a one-vote margin,” Johnson said on “Jesse Watters Primetime” on Wednesday. “Some people are upset that we don’t have the border in the foreign aid law. We fought to the end to do this. We have been fighting for the border every day.”

Watters rebuffed the president, saying Republican representatives are frustrated that even though they hold the majority in the House, they are not getting what they want, which is increased border security measures.

“Well, that’s not true. We don’t have a working majority,” Johnson countered. “When you can only lose one vote, if one person has a different idea, we don’t lose.”

Johnson said Republicans don’t want to work together, but he wouldn’t specifically name Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who has threatened to remove Johnson from her leadership position.

“We’re trying to keep Republicans working together and we’ve got better policies, better processes and we’re getting things done, but it’s very difficult when very individualistic, individual-minded Republicans don’t want to move together as a bloc,” Johnson said.

Depending on who is asked, the Republican caucus has very different answers about who is to blame for their dwindling majority. The pointed fingers highlight the deep divisions marring the Republican Party, where conservatives criticize moderates and moderates criticize conservatives.

Johnson compared the situation to a football game. He said some people want him to throw a Hail Mary pass “on every play,” which is not a “game-winning strategy.”

“Right now, when you have that margin, it’s ten feet and a cloud of dust, right? We achieved the next descent, put points on the board and reached November, recovered and increased the majority.