House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) could be facing the same fate as his predecessor as frustration mounts over his spending deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
House Republicans are reportedly seething over the $1.6 trillion spending deal struck by Johnson and Schumer on Sunday. The proposal includes $886 billion for defense spending, which according to Politico was negotiated by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) during debt ceiling negotiations last summer.
It also reportedly includes $773 billion for non-defense spending, which has been seen as a victory for Democrats.
During an interview on CNN, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said the spending proposal is full of “gimmicks” to “back-fill and increase spending.”
“Americans are tired of that. I oppose it, it’s just more of the same. I wish Speaker Johson weren’t doing this. I’m very disappointed, and hopefully, we can try to figure out what we can do to change it in the next few days,” he added.
Watch the video below:
Asked if the “real conversations” that House Republicans are going to have this week include potentially moving to oust Speaker Johnson, Rep. Chip Roy says “that’s not the road I prefer” but doesn’t rule it out. “It isn’t good.” pic.twitter.com/tBAIiQ4FSn
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) January 9, 2024
Host Kaitlan Collins suggested the battle over the spending deal looks like “the same situation that then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy found himself in not long ago.”
“Is Mike Johnson — Speaker Johnson going to potentially face the same fate? Are Republicans going to try to oust him?” she asked.
Roy responded by criticizing the spending bill and said he believes there will be some “real conversations this week about what we need to do going forward.”
“Does that include potentially moving to oust him from his job?” Collins asked.
Roy stated that is “not the road I prefer” as he noted he opposed the push to oust McCarthy. However, he added, “It isn’t good, and there’s a lot of my colleagues who are pretty frustrated about it. So we’ll see what happens this week.”
McCarthy made history as the first House speaker to be stripped of the position after he worked with Democrats to avoid a government shutdown last year.
