GOP Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky says he will be voting for “someone other than” Mike Johnson to be speaker of the House in the next Congress, warning the Republican leader would be the next Paul Ryan.
“On January 3rd, 2017 Paul Ryan was elected Speaker by every Republican except me,” Massie posted Monday on X.
“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,” he added.
On January 3rd, 2017 Paul Ryan was elected Speaker by every Republican except me. 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. pic.twitter.com/IMHiPGv8Tr
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) December 30, 2024
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, passed in December 2017, was the most prominent policy success Ryan and Trump achieved together.
A few months later, in April 2018, Ryan announced ahead of the 2018 midterm elections that he would be retiring from Congress. That November the Democrats gained 40 seats retaking the House and making Nancy Pelosi speaker for a second time.
Under Pelosi’s leadership, the House impeached then-President Donald Trump twice.
After leaving office, Ryan became a very vocal critic of Trump describing him last year as a “populist, authoritarian narcissist,” according to Politico.
The former speaker also had revealed in May that he would not be voting for Trump to serve a second term, but be writing in another Republican.
Regarding the current speaker race, Massie also posted on X last week, “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.”
“A weak legislative branch, beholden to the swamp, will not be able to achieve the mandate voters gave Trump and Congress in November,” Massie wrote.
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. A weak legislative branch, beholden to the swamp, will not be able to achieve the mandate voters gave Trump and Congress in November. pic.twitter.com/vrD3l45XDX
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) December 27, 2024
Fox News congressional correspondent Chad Pergram laid out the January 6 argument to which the congressman referred.
There are currently 434 members of Congress who will be able to vote for the next speaker following Rep. Matt Gaetz’s resignation from the House last month.
The breakdown is 219 Republicans and 215 Democrats.
“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,” Pergram explained.
This was exemplified when it took Kevin McCarthy 15 ballots to become speaker in January 2023, though he had the most votes of any Republican.
After McCarthy was voted out in October of that year, House members struggled for three weeks to finally elect Johnson.
If a similar problem arises on Friday when the speaker election is due to take place, no other House business can happen. In other words, the members of the 119th Congress cannot be sworn in.
If they are not sworn in, they cannot vote to certify the Electoral College vote on January 6, and Trump cannot be sworn in as the 47th president until they do.
President Joe Biden’s term will end on Jan. 20, and if the situation still has not been resolved, Senate president pro tempore Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa will become acting president.
The Hill reported that given the stakes involved Republican leaders like House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer and others are urging their colleagues to back Johnson.
Johnson can only afford to lose one GOP member and still retain the gavel.
The speaker faced strong criticism from within his ranks for negotiating a massive spending bill with Democrats that ultimately was replaced with a slimmed-down version, which passed with more Democrats than Republicans voting for it. Thirty-four GOP lawmakers voted against it.
According to The Hill, other Republican members besides Massie who are non-committal for Johnson remaining 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 speaker.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
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