House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) faces a massive difficulty in tomorrow's vote to keep him in the gavel. And according to Axios, the more moderate faction of House Republicans warned him not to repeat the folly of his predecessor, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).
Specifically, they told him not to give the far-right flank rule changes that benefit them at the expense of the rest of the caucus, simply as a condition of getting their votes — something that ultimately destroyed McCarthy's speakership as he gave a renegade band of lawmakers, led by former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), the ability to vote to remove him the second he made compromises on spending they hated.
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"There have been 'scores' of 'regular' House Republicans warning Johnson even against handshake deals that may put the rest of his conference in a bind," Axios reported on the word of four members of the caucus.
One lawmaker said the message to Johnson was, "Don't do what McCarthy did."
"Don't give promises upon which you can't deliver. Don't give promises that require us to do things that we don't want to do, that are beyond reasonable," the lawmaker said.
Another said, "You cannot trust these guys who undermine us at every point. They ask for first base, the speaker gives it to them, and they ask for second base. ... Don't cater to [them]."
Johnson, according to other sources, has said he is willing to make handshake agreements on various policies being given a say in the House, but that unlike McCarthy, he won't agree to make rule changes.
So far, only Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) has outright said he will not back Johnson for the role. However, a number of other members have not committed about how they will vote either way, and Johnson can only afford a couple of defections as he faces one of the narrowest House majorities in history. A failure to confirm him as speaker could throw the House into chaos for weeks and even delay certification of President-elect Donald Trump's victory.
