Massie won’t back Johnson as House Speaker, fears weakness


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Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie has expressed his intention to cast his vote for someone other than Mike Johnson as the next Speaker of the House. Massie voiced his concerns about Johnson’s potential leadership, drawing parallels to the tenure of former Speaker Paul Ryan.

In a recent post on X, Massie recalled, “On January 3rd, 2017, Paul Ryan was elected Speaker by every Republican except me.” He went on to criticize Ryan’s actions, stating, “Ryan went on to offer a fake repeal of ObamaCare, increased spending, backed the deep state, and didn’t fund a wall. Two years later, we lost the majority, and democrats made a living hell for Trump.”

Despite this criticism, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, passed in December 2017, stood as a significant policy achievement between Ryan and former President Donald Trump. However, just a few months later, in April 2018, Ryan announced his retirement from Congress ahead of the 2018 midterm elections. That November, the Democrats gained 40 seats, retaking the House and making Nancy Pelosi the Speaker for a second time.

Under Pelosi’s leadership, the House impeached then-President Donald Trump twice. After leaving office, Ryan became a vocal critic of Trump, describing him as a “populist, authoritarian narcissist,” according to Politico. Ryan also revealed in May that he would not be voting for Trump in a second term, instead opting to write in another Republican.

Regarding the current speaker race, Massie had previously posted on X, “I will vote for someone other than Mike Johnson. I’m not persuaded by the ‘hurry up and elect him so we can certify the election on J6’ argument.” He added, “A weak legislative branch, beholden to the swamp, will not be able to achieve the mandate voters gave Trump and Congress in November.”

“The speaker of the House must win an outright majority of all members casting ballots for someone by name. In other words, the person with the most votes does not win,” explained Fox News congressional correspondent Chad Pergram.

This was evident when it took Kevin McCarthy 15 ballots to become speaker in January 2023, despite initially having the most votes among Republicans. After McCarthy’s ouster in October of that year, House members struggled for three weeks to finally elect Johnson.

If a similar impasse arises during the upcoming speaker election on Friday, no other House business can proceed. Consequently, the members of the 119th Congress cannot be sworn in, and they cannot vote to certify the Electoral College vote on January 6, effectively preventing Trump from being sworn in as the 47th president until they do.

President Joe Biden’s term will end on January 20, and if the situation remains unresolved, Senate President pro tempore Chuck Grassley of Iowa will become the acting president.

Given the high stakes, Republican leaders like House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer are urging their colleagues to back Johnson. Johnson can only afford to lose one GOP member’s vote and still retain the gavel.

However, Johnson faced criticism from within his ranks for negotiating a massive spending bill with Democrats, which was ultimately replaced by a slimmed-down version. Thirty-four GOP lawmakers voted against this version.

According to The Hill, other Republican members besides Massie who are non-committal about supporting Johnson as speaker include former Freedom Caucus chair Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland, and Rep. Nicole Malliotakis of New York.

On Monday, Trump endorsed Johnson to remain as speaker.

 

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