What’s Next?

Created
Sun, 21/04/2024 - 07:00
Updated
Sun, 21/04/2024 - 07:00
They passed the national security bills in the House and the MAGA extremists are pissed. (What else is new?) Here’s Politico on the state of play with the defenestration of Mike Johnson: Right now, however, Capitol Hill’s gossip du jour continues to center on whether Speaker MIKE JOHNSON can keep his job. There’s been some speculation that Rep. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-Ga.) could file a privileged motion to vacate later today, teeing up a vote when the House returns from a weeklong recess. But we caught up with her fellow rebel Rep. THOMAS MASSIE yesterday, and the Kentucky Republican laid out a different, slow-burn strategy. Yesterday Rep. PAUL GOSAR (R-Ariz.) made the openly anti-Johnson camp into a trio, and Massie said he was confident their ranks will grow. Expect a number of conservatives, he said, to endorse the Johnson ouster over the coming days. “This is like a ratchet — the pressure will just keep building,” he said. “The speaker’s overdrawn on political capital. He’s gonna go bankrupt after this vote.” Massie’s expectation is that by the time their numbers reach about a dozen, Johnson will see the writing on the wall and, just as former Speaker JOHN BOEHNER did nine years ago, resign on his own accord rather than face his own demise at the hands of his rank and file. There are some gaping holes in this strategy, we’ll point out: For one, Johnson insists he won’t resign; Massie simply predicts that will change as the pressure builds. For another, there’s the expectation that he will have significant backup from House Democrats on…