WASHINGTON — Friday began with House conservatives holding a trash-talking news conference $1.2 trillion spending bill their leaders have been negotiating with Democrats, leading to some fears about its prospects.
It required 67% of the House of Representatives, won 68% – but most Republicans voted against it.
It was the first headache of the day for House Republicans as they broke into a two-week recess offering a distillation of the infighting and frustration that has kept the party in a narrow majority for 15 months. Things would go from bad to worse.
Moments later, far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., shocked her colleagues. Motion to oust Speaker Mike JohnsonR-La., blasted the House administration and threatened further turmoil in his party’s leadership.
“This is more of a warning than a pink slip,” Greene told reporters. “I don’t want to cause pain to our conference and throw the House into chaos. But it’s mostly a warning, and it’s time for us to go through the process, take our time, and find a new House speaker who will stand with Republicans and our Republican majority instead of siding with Democrats.”
He hasn’t officially started voting, but now it hangs over Johnson’s head as a warning if he steps out of line with him again. If he activates it, the House must vote within two legislative days, requiring a simple majority to oust Johnson. It reopened the wounds of the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy last October and the three weeks of chaos in which they tried to replace him.
Raj Shah, a spokesman for Johnson, said the speaker is “focused on governing” and will “continue to advance conservative legislation.”
It’s the conservative hardliner, R-Colo., who was kicked out of the party altogether after demanding that its leaders stop spreading lies about the 2020 election and admit that former President Donald Trump lost. He resigned from Congress on Friday, leaving his seat vacant for now.
Buck voted no on the spending bill and said he would vote “hell no” if he could. But despite his unassailable fiscal conservative credentials, he has lost ground on the right as he insists his party reject allegations of a stolen election, reflecting a new litmus test.
On his way out, he signed two impeachment petitions that could force Ukraine and other US allies to vote for aid, an attempt to overturn Johnson’s control of the House.
In the afternoon, Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., a rising star who recently said he would retire from Congress, announced. will leave early — on April 19. His move would further weaken the GOP majority and risk leaving Johnson with a one-vote margin in the coming months.
Minutes after Gallagher’s move, House Appropriations Chairman Kay Granger, R-Texas, made the unusual decision to resign early from her powerful post, replacing Johnson as chairman of a committee tasked with implementing federal funding “as quickly as possible.” asked him to do it. In the letter, Granger said he had “accomplished more than I could ever have imagined” and thanked Johnson for stepping up to lead “during a very turbulent time.”
Granger has already said he will not seek re-election this fall. But his move to abandon the coveted gavel mid-session underscores the paralysis that has defined the government’s funding process, which has taken four stopgap measures and six months into the fiscal year to resolve. The next funding period is at the end of September.
Democrats were shocked by what they saw.
“An absolutely incredible ‘The Godfather final scene’ is shaking in the US House of Representatives today” he said Aaron Fritschner, Deputy Chief of Staff Don Beyer, D-Va.
Meanwhile, ousted former congressman George Santos has announced his plans works independently In New York’s competitive 1st District on Long Island, currently held by Republican Representative Nick LaLota. Santos, who represented the Third District before him expelled from the assemblyHe said he would run as an independent with “ultra MAGA/Trump-supporting values.”
Santos still has hurdles to clear before he can get on the ballot under New York law. But if he succeeds and gets MAGA voters out of LaLota, it could split the GOP vote and help Democrats.
“George Santos’ ouster from Congress was good for the nation, and his resignation from the Republican Party is good for sane conservatives,” LaLota, who pushed for Santos’ ouster, told NBC News in a statement. “Santos can watch me defend this important swing district and the results of the November election from his jail cell because he is responsible for stealing elections and stealing donors.”
Santos, who was fired after fabricating much of his resume and charged in a 23-count federal indictment, said he left the GOP because he was embarrassed by it.
“The Republican Party continues to lie and deceive the voter base,” Santos said On X. “I cannot in good conscience belong to a party that stands for nothing and is addicted to everything.”