House GOP erupts into name-calling and fresh threats to Johnson over effort to pass aid

Speaker Mike Johnson is being lobbied by his members to raise the threshold required to trigger the procedure to oust the speaker, according to multiple GOP sources – a move that would help ensure the Louisiana Republican can pass foreign aid bills and still keep his job without needing to rely on Democrats to bail him out.

Speaker Mike Johnson is being lobbied by his members to raise the threshold required to trigger the procedure to oust the speaker, according to multiple GOP sources – a move that would help ensure the Louisiana Republican can pass foreign aid bills and still keep his job without needing to rely on Democrats to bail him out. The suggestion has set off another round of fury amid conservative lawmakers who are unhappy with the speaker over his proposed package of bills to send aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan among other priorities. An effort has been brewing for weeks to potentially oust Johnson, led by Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, and the proposal to change the rules around ousting the speaker has ignited intense speculation over Johnson’s future. It’s unclear what Johnson will do, but members believe he is considering the change to the process known as the motion to vacate the chair, which would be a significant move by Johnson. In recent days, rank-and-file House Republicans have privately encouraged Johnson to insert language into the text of a rule for the foreign aid bills to alter the motion to vacate and make it harder for any single member to use. Currently, any single member can force a floor vote on the motion to vacate — part of the deal Kevin McCarthy made to become speaker last year. News that Johnson was being lobbied to raise the threshold was first reported by Punchbowl News.