GOP "playing with fire" if Johnson removed as speaker, Rep. Lawler says
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Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., attends a "Back the Blue," campaign rally in Congers, N.Y., on Friday, October 18, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) warned his Republican colleagues on Sunday about potentially removing House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) from his post when the 119th Congress is sworn in this week.
Why it matters: With a slim GOP majority in the House, Johnson can only afford to lose one vote among Republicans when the House votes on its new leader, and a battle over who that will be could delay other aspects of Congress — including certifying President-elect Trump's win.
What they're saying: "The fact is that Mike Johnson inherited a disaster when Matt Gaetz and several of my colleagues teamed up with 208 Democrats to remove Kevin McCarthy, which will go down as the single stupidest thing I've ever seen in politics," Lawler said Sunday on ABC News' "This Week."
- "Removing Mike Johnson would equally be as stupid. The fact is that these folks are playing with fire. And if they think they're somehow going to get a more conservative speaker, they're kidding themselves," Lawler said.
Zoom out: Johnson's odds of keeping the gavel grew slimmer after Trump torpedoed the stopgap spending bill and Congress spent the Friday before Christmas working to fend off a government shutdown.
- The bill that eventually passed didn't include a debt ceiling increase, a key demand from Trump and several MAGA allies.
- Following the bill's passage, several Republicans have openly voiced their opposition to Johnson continuing to lead the House, with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) saying he won't vote for him.
- Others, including Reps. Scott Perry (R.Pa.) and Andy Harris (R-Md.), have said they're undecided on how they'll vote.
Driving the news: "Mike Johnson is arguably the most conservative speaker that's ever been elected to the office," Lawler said before praising the job Johnson has done "despite the best efforts of some of these same people" who now want him ousted.
- "I'm not going to bend to their will," Lawler said of those pushing to remove Johnson. "So, if they think somehow that they are going to end up in a stronger position by removing Mike Johnson, they're not."
Lawler also cautioned that Congress has a "lot of work to do on behalf of the American people" and a House Speaker battle would delay the start of that.
- "We can't get anything done unless we have a speaker, including certifying President Trump's election on January 6th. So, to waste time over a nonsensical intramural food fight is a joke," he said.
