Blaze News investigates: 'Uniparty Speaker'? Mike Johnson bailed out in peculiar bipartisan vote — here's what happened

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After dangling the threat over House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) for over a month, Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia finally pulled the trigger on May 8 and sought to oust him from the speakership.

But in a peculiar show of bipartisanship, the bulk of lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle joined together to spike the ouster effort in a 359-43 vote to table the matter.

"The Uniparty has spoken, and Mike Johnson is their speaker."

Only 11 House Republicans voted against the motion to table the issue: Greene, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Warren Davidson of Ohio, Alex Mooney of West Virginia, Barry Moore of Alabama, Victoria Spartz of Indiana, Chip Roy of Texas, Paul Gosar of Arizona, Eli Crane of Arizona, Eric Burlison of Missouri, and Andy Biggs of Arizona. Thirty-two Democrats also voted against the motion to table, while seven Democrats voted present.

"The Uniparty has spoken, and Mike Johnson is their speaker," GOP Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky declared in a written statement to Blaze News after the vote on Wednesday.

Johnson ascended to the speaker's chair last year after prior House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was booted from the post. Following the McCarthy ouster, the House GOP struggled to agree on a replacement before finally tapping Johnson for the role.

Back in March, Greene fired a warning shot when she filed a motion to vacate.

"The current Speaker has shown he cannot stand up to the Democrats. I filed a Motion to Vacate because it's time the American people have leadership in Congress that will fight for their values and stop funding the left's agenda," a tweet on Greene's @RepMTG X account declared at the time.

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In April, GOP Reps. Massie and Gosar cosponsored Greene's motion to vacate.

Then, in an April 30 statement, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), and House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) announced that if Greene sought to oust Johnson, they would vote to table the motion to vacate.

"We will vote to table Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's Motion to Vacate the Chair. If she invokes the motion, it will not succeed," the Democratic trio declared in the statement.

Greene indicated that she would seek to oust Johnson the following week.

During an interview on "60 Minutes," Jeffries said, "Even though we're in the minority, we effectively have been governing as if we were in the majority because we continue to provide a majority of the votes necessary to get things done."

Greene and Massie made four demands.

During a phone interview with Blaze News on Wednesday before Greene later took to the House floor and sought to oust Johnson, Massie characterized the four points as "suggestions," which he indicated were for the benefit of the GOP, the nation, and the institution.

One of the asks was for Johnson to follow "the Hastert Rule, which means no bills are brought to the floor unless the majority of the majority, which is the majority of Republicans, support it," Greene said during an appearance on Steve Bannon's "War Room" program.

They were also seeking the defunding or elimination of special counsel Jack Smith's "illegitimate prosecution" of former President Donald Trump, as well as an end of U.S. funding for Ukraine, Massie noted while speaking to Blaze News.

Another request was his "shutdown prevention plan," Massie noted, explaining that "instead of shutting down the government, have an automatic 99% [continuing resolution]" if the House fails to pass its 12 individual appropriations bills.

"He's ignored every warning. He continues to behave like he's representing the uniparty or doing Chuck Schumer's bidding," Massie said to Blaze News of Johnson, adding, "This week we've given him a chance to show us he will fight for our conference" and "principles," but "we don't see him doing that."

Shortly after Blaze News spoke to Massie, Greene took to the House floor and sought to oust Johnson, a move that was met by audible boos in the chamber.

The new motion to vacate that the congresswoman put forward on Wednesday laid out a lengthy list of grievances against the speaker.

In a post on X, Massie shared what he said was the "full text of" Greene's "motion to vacate the office of Speaker of the House." The text included statements such as:

  • "Mike Johnson cast the deciding vote against requiring a warrant for U.S. person queries of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Section 702 data."
  • "a two-part omnibus, split into two minibuses, was crammed down our throats and passed under suspension of the rules, with only one day to review it"
  • "By passing the Democrats' agenda and handcuffing Republicans' ability to influence legislation, our elected Republican Speaker Mike Johnson has aided and abetted the Democrats and the Biden administration in destroying our country."
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Greene and Massie have referred to Johnson as a "Uniparty Speaker," but other Republicans regard the speaker much differently.

In a statement responding to questions from Blaze News about whether he supported the speakership ouster effort and the four demands Massie and Greene had made, GOP Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska — who was one of the 196 House Republicans who voted to table Greene's motion to vacate — described Johnson as an individual who is committed to "doing the right thing for" the nation.

"I oppose the efforts of two or three Republicans to vacate Speaker Johnson. He's an honest man and dedicated to doing the right thing for our country. He's being attacked for passing FISA, a budget and the Ukraine supplemental, all things that I and the vast majority in the House all supported," Bacon said in the written statement. "I'd give no concessions to 1.5% of the GOP who are making them. These individuals had the chance to vote and speak against these bills but it is not enough for them. They want to forbid the vast majority of the House from doing its will."

GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who instigated the removal of McCarthy from the speakership last year, was also among the bulk of Republicans who voted to kill Greene's effort, but in a tweet explaining his decision, Gaetz actually praised Greene, saying that she "made a truthful, compelling case against Mike Johnson" and "should be commended for this work."

"I voted to table the motion for one principal reason — with a two seat majority in an election year I believe 2-3 Republicans could be susceptible to bribes to resign or even vote for a Democrat. Democrats would then instantly deem Trump an 'insurrectionist' to bar him from the ballot," Gaetz said in the tweet. "House Republicans must do better. We must be led better. We must return Trump to the White House."

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Trump spoke highly of Greene in a post on Truth Social but expressed opposition to her move to target Johnson's speakership, calling the speaker "a good man who is trying very hard."

"I absolutely love Marjorie Taylor Greene. She's got Spirit, she's got Fight, and I believe she'll be around, and on our side, for a long time to come," the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee wrote. "However, right now, Republicans have to be fighting the Radical Left Democrats, and all the Damage they have done to our Country. With a Majority of One, shortly growing to three or four, we’re not in a position of voting on a Motion to Vacate. At some point, we may very well be, but this is not the time. We are leading in the Presidential Polls by a lot, both Nationally and in the Swing States."

"Likewise, we are doing well in the Senate, and I believe will do well in the House. But if we show DISUNITY, which will be portrayed as CHAOS, it will negatively affect everything! Mike Johnson is a good man who is trying very hard. I also wish certain things were done over the last period of two months, but we will get them done, together. It is my request that Republicans vote for 'THE MOTION TO TABLE.' We WILL WIN BIG — AND IT WILL BE SOON!" Trump concluded.

When speaking to Politico during an interview with the "Playbook Deep Dive" podcast, Johnson claimed that the Hastert Rule has not been violated during his speakership. He said that he does not anticipate any additional Ukraine funding requests prior to the end of the year.

The speaker, who said he thinks Trump will win the election, noted that he intends to remain in the speakership.

"Will the 'accidental' Speaker win in next Congress? Conservatives should ask themselves: Do you want a speaker who passes majority Democrats bills despised by a majority of GOP? If that's winning, it's hard to imagine how losing could be any worse," GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky tweeted, earning a retweet from Massie.

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Cruz calls Greene's speakership ouster bid 'silly'; Johnson reportedly ​claims to be 'most conservative member' to be speaker

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Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas has criticized Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's (R-Ga.) bid to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) from the speakership, describing it as "silly" and "seriously counterproductive" while calling Johnson "a strong conservative."

Cruz said that Greene's ouster effort "increases the chances of chaos" and of giving control over to Democrats. "And there is zero chance a more conservative speaker will result," he asserted during an interview on the "RealClearPolitics" radio show on SiriusXM, noting, "I think what she's doing is really unhelpful to the country."

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) have pledged to vote to table Greene's motion to vacate, saying in a statement earlier this week, "If she invokes the motion, it will not succeed."

Greene, who filed the motion to vacate in March, has noted that she plans to pull the trigger next week.

"I'm calling the motion to vacate Speaker Mike Johnson next week after weeks of warning Mike Johnson to stop giving Democrats everything they want," Greene said in a post on X. "The vote on the motion to table will essentially reveal the Uniparty in full. Vote YES to table the motion to vacate = Uniparty member," she averred. "Vote against tabling the motion to vacate = not Uniparty member."

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Axios reported that Johnson said, "I'm the most conservative member who has ever held the gavel as speaker, but the reality of our numbers is our challenge."

Greene responded in a tweet by posting six rolling on the floor laughing emojis and writing, "Most conservative except when you… fund the invasion of our country," "fund full-term abortion," "fund the trans agenda," "fund endless war," "break the tie for warrantless spying," "criminalize the New Testament," "are endorsed by Democrat leadership," and "spend more than Nancy Pelosi."

GOP Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Paul Gosar of Arizona are both cosponsoring the motion to vacate.

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Speaker Johnson Is Willingly Funding The Biden Regime’s Authoritarianism

Whether he admits it or not, Matt Gaetz helped usher in a new House speaker who's just as feckless as his predecessor.

Rep. Chip Roy's FIERY message to federal bureaucracy amid shutdown debate

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As a government shutdown draws closer, Republicans in the House have yet to come to an agreement among themselves — never mind with the Democrats.

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) is at his wits' end with this federal bureaucracy, which grabs from the pockets of the American taxpayers so it can continue its “war” against them.

“What’s happening is totally indefensible,” he tells Glenn Beck.

“The current thinking in this town is that we need to leverage Ukraine in order to force border security.”

That’s a problem because “that accepts the premise of Ukraine in the first place.”

Roy explains that some Republicans are trying to “force that conversation: transparency, where the money’s going to go, how it’s used, is it in our national security interest, and if so, is it enough of that to then warrant using it as a kind of leverage point to force border security?”

In order for the Republicans and Democrats to reach a resolution, Roy believes a few things are necessary.

“You’ve got to give me cuts, you’ve got to give me something in order to buy more time to pass the appropriations bills,” he tells Glenn, noting that the House has passed seven appropriations bills already.

“Until they get signed into law, changing policies and cutting spending, then it’s not doing the American people any good,” he adds.

Glenn agrees.

“I don’t think that there is any reason to not go back to the spending levels of 2019 before the emergencies. There’s no reason. None, none,” Glenn says.

Lack of border security and outrageous government spending on matters that do not benefit the American people at all — and are instead sending American taxpayers themselves farther into debt — are where Chip is drawing the line.

“Do not ask me to continue to fund the government that’s killing my people, that’s at war with the people I represent, because I can’t do that,” Chip says.


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Rolling Stone Dishonestly Demonizes Speaker Mike Johnson For Protecting His Son From Porn

Rolling Stone’s latest attack on Johnson proves the publication understands nothing about the evangelical conservatives it loves to lament.

Speaker vote suggests Republicans are finally ready to act like Democrats

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The House Republicans’ unanimous support for Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) in last week’s speaker vote may indicate that GOP lawmakers are finally ready to act like Democrats.

For taxpayers, that would be the best news in many, many years. Bringing Democrats’ level of enthusiasm, tenacity, and unparalleled political acumen to a fight for a smaller national government and a respect for individual rights might just save the nation — if anything can.

Johnson is a solid conservative and a constitutional scholar with lifetime ratings of 92% from the American Conservative Union and 90% from Heritage Action. In 2020, Johnson argued that states’ unconstitutional changes in voting procedures in a supposed response to COVID-19 invalidated their elector slates. He has consistently opposed federal government support of abortion and sex and gender radicalism.

Johnson voted against the bipartisan short-term spending bill that passed with near-unanimous Democrat support on September 30 (just one Democrat voted no) in an allegedly Republican-controlled chamber. He voted against sending $40 billion to Ukraine for warfighting last year and opposed another $300 million this year. Johnson has expressed agreement with the GOP budget hard-liners’ call for individual appropriations bills, while proposing another short-term spending measure to fill in the gap until those bills can be passed.

Johnson’s proposed approach would set up a stark conflict with the Democrat-majority Senate and spending fanatic Joe Biden. As that indicates, Johnson does not subscribe to the bipartisanship myth that has served as the basis for big-government uniparty rule for decades.

Johnson’s plan for budget negotiations fits with the hard-liners’ position and would draw a big fat line between the two parties’ positions on government spending.

“In Biden’s first two years, Johnson voted against a slew of bipartisan bills — including to establish a Jan. 6 independent commission, the infrastructure law, reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, a modest new gun law and the CHIPS and Science Act,” NBC News reported. In addition, “He voted against bipartisan legislation to codify same-sex marriage, which Biden signed into law in 2022” and “has a spotless history of voting against legal abortion,” NBC News observed.

“Johnson isn’t known for bipartisanship,” the Wall Street Journal reported. “He was ranked 429th out of 435 lawmakers in the 2021 bipartisan index kept by the Lugar Center and the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, situated among members of the staunchly conservative House Freedom Caucus.”

Bipartisanship is the central pillar of ever-expanding government. The uniparty scam starts with Democrats demanding ambitious schemes of government spending and regulation, which the chattering classes characterize as laudable idealism and wise “investments.” Republicans resist based on the cost to taxpayers, which the media bigmouths invariably castigate as small-minded and miserly.

If the Democrats have a legislative majority and the presidency, they then just do what they want. The extravagant Affordable Care Act and Inflation Reduction Act were passed with all Republicans voting no (and with all Democrats voting yes in the latter case), then signed by Democrat presidents. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 fiscal stimulus boondoggle passed with unanimous support from Senate Democrats and only one House Democrat voting against it.

Republicans can stick together at times, as in the case of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, but they usually do so only when they cannot win, as happened with the American Rescue Plan. Democrats consult with Republicans only when they need votes from GOP turncoats, as when Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) single-handedly rescued Obamacare from partial repeal.

This year’s budget bills show how the game can change. A small group of Republican House members have prevented GOP leaders from colluding with the Democrats to put off a reckoning about the appalling $2 trillion federal budget deficit until after next year’s elections, which would obviously help protect big spenders from voter scrutiny. The budget hard-liners would force the Democrats to accept sole responsibility for that catastrophic, unprecedented budget hole.

Johnson’s plan for budget negotiations fits with the hard-liners’ position and would draw a big fat line between the two parties’ positions on government spending. If that approach risks producing Democrat majorities in both houses of Congress in next years’ elections, the nation would have been lost anyway via Republican capitulation to fiscal suicide. In any case, I do not believe that the public knowingly supports such idiocy. Republicans’ complicity in uniparty rule hid the truth.

The split among congressional Republicans reflects a great divide among the American people over whether to support the ever-expanding mega-alliance of big government, big money, big business, and big media, aligned with the nation’s so-called cultural and educational institutions, which are just a big brainwashing outfit doing the plutocrats’ bidding.

To me, those 22 days without action from Congress during the speaker deliberations were the best governing we’ve had for quite a while. If Johnson and the budget hard-liners can transform their party from a surrender caucus into a group that fights like Democrats, this nation might just have a chance of surviving beyond 2024.

NRCC Has Best Fundraising Day In Over 18 Months After Mike Johnson Wins Speakership

'Speaker Johnson is off to a hot start in the money game'

The ONE thing you need to know about House Speaker Mike Johnson

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Kevin McCarthy is OUT, and Mike Johnson is IN.

But who is Mike Johnson? We don’t know much about him as of now, but Glenn Beck is certain about one thing: the media is not on his side.

“The media hates Mike Johnson. ... You remember when McCarthy was Hitler?” he asks, before explaining that Johnson is portrayed by the media as “Hitler’s Hitler.”

Stu Burguiere, who’s been carefully watching the media’s coverage of Johnson, agrees, saying, “All of a sudden Kevin McCarthy is this, like, moderate guy that we could all understand and get along with, [but Johnson]? He's crazy.”

Glenn then recalls when Pope Francis was elected at the Vatican back in 2013.

“The media was like, ‘Oh we're going to hate all these popes. ... They're so bigoted,’” but when Pope Francis was selected, “Immediately within 10 minutes, everyone on CNN [and] MSNBC was like, ‘Oh he's a good pope, he's one of the best popes ever.’”

That’s when Glenn knew “there's something really wrong with this guy.”

“Seeing that the media does not love Johnson,” says Glenn, “I think that's a pretty good sign.”

However, Glenn doesn’t want to jump to conclusions.

“Be cautious,” he warns. “This guy could be a nightmare. ... This guy might be good.”

Based on the fact that Johnson’s voting record was “pretty much the same” as McCarthy’s, Stu assumes “they're going to be right in the same realm.”

Regardless, “there's only so much a speaker can do,” he continues, adding that hopefully Johnson “can be someone who's aggressive and hopefully allows the truth to come out,” which is “the main thing that the House can do right now.”


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