Freedom Caucus Chairman Downplays Johnson’s Firing

Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, in an interview Tuesday downplayed the likelihood that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) would end up facing an effort by his conference to remove him. him from the position of president.

In an interview on NewsNation’s “The Hill” on Tuesday, Good said he was committed to working on passing urgent legislation this week and heard from only two members — Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky). .) – discussing Johnson’s dismissal.

“Well, I only heard two members speaking along those lines, and you know who those two are,” Good said when asked if Massie was right in saying Johnson should resign. best result this week.”

Massie on Tuesday joined Greene as the second Republican to say he would support a motion to impeach Johnson if it were brought to the floor for a vote. Greene has already introduced a motion to remove Johnson from power, but has not forced an immediate vote on the issue — a threat that looms over any potential votes on Ukraine funding.

Johnson this week outlined a multipronged strategy to provide military assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, accompanied by a sweeping package of Republican national security priorities designed to appease wary conservatives within the Republican Party. He is promising that all four components will receive separate votes before the end of the week.

In the interview, Good did not say how he would vote on a possible motion to vacate if it reached the House floor for a vote. He said he had a “productive” meeting with Johnson on Tuesday and said he was committed to passing legislation — although Good continues to criticize certain aspects of Johnson’s aid plan, notably that it omits any provisions on border security.

Good also did not say whether he had a red line for Johnson that would lead him to vote on a motion to vacate if it reached the floor for a vote.

Good noted that before he voted to impeach former President Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), he never publicly said he had a red line and similarly wouldn’t say that now when asked about a hypothetical impeachment effort against Johnson.

“I never said that a year ago with the previous speaker and I don’t say that now,” Good said about having a red line. “I’m not arrogant about it. I’m not threatening that. I’m not flippant about it. Don’t you know, I’m trying to discuss this openly in public.

“I hadn’t done this before, but I obviously reached a breaking point when someone else filed to vacate. I had no reason to defend [McCarthy],” he said.

“I am not starting a motion to vacate. I think we should do the best we can for the American people by November. And after November, we will have a dispute for leadership in the new Congress”, he continued.

Good also said he thought Democrats were “bluffing” and that they ultimately wouldn’t bail out Johnson — if his job security depended on approving aid to Ukraine — but that that would be a problem for him.

“I think they’re bluffing because I think they would rather see the Republican Party in some kind of disarray. I don’t believe the Democrats will, but let’s just say they did,” Good said, “I don’t think that’s sustainable for the speaker. We told him that. We don’t think this is a path forward for him. We don’t think it’s good for him or the Republican Party, so we don’t recommend he succeeds based on Democratic votes. We want him to do what the Republicans want so we can all rally around him and support him.”

NewsNation is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which also owns The Hill.

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