Third Republican Supports Bid to Oust Johnson as Speaker

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) on April 19 signed on to a motion to strip House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) of the gavel.

He is the third Republican to back what is called a motion to vacate. It only takes one member of Congress to put forth that motion to force a vote on the House floor.

This comes as the House voted on April 19 to advance $95.3 billion worth of bills to give assistance to Israel, Ukraine, and the Indo-Pacific, in addition to a bill that includes measures such as banning TikTok.

A vote on the bills has been scheduled for April 20.

In a statement obtained by The Epoch Times, Mr. Gosar cited numerous issues, including the crisis at the southern border, that are not being addressed under Mr. Johnson.

“Nearly 11 million illegal aliens have crossed our southern border in the past three years. My Congressional district in Arizona, ground zero for the invasion, is getting pummeled by the surge of lawbreakers,” said Mr. Gosar, who represents the state’s Ninth Congressional District.

Related Stories

“These illegal aliens have brought violent crime, deadly drugs, human trafficking, and are depleting resources and services meant for U.S. citizens,” he continued.

“In fact, every state has become a border state. Communities across the country are being ravaged, families are being destroyed and Americans in need are being ignored.

“Congress cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the consequence of [President Joe] Biden’s disastrous open border policies, nor can it idly wait for Biden to halt this invasion through executive fiat.

“Congress has the responsibility to solve this crisis.”

Mr. Gosar lamented what he said is Congress putting Ukraine over the southern border.

“Yet rather than spending the resources to secure our southern border and combating the invasion of 11 million illegals and despite repeated promises there would be no additional money going to Ukraine without first securing our border, the United States House of Representatives, under the direction of the speaker, is on the verge of sending another $61 billion to further draw America into an endless and purposeless war in Ukraine,” he said.

“Our border cannot be an afterthought,” continued Mr. Gosar.

“We need a speaker who puts America first rather than bending to the reckless demands of the warmongers, neo-cons, and the military-industrial complex making billions from a costly and endless war half a world away,” he concluded.

Earlier this week, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) agreed on the motion to vacate.

Mr. Massie said that he told this to Mr. Johnson’s face during the House GOP’s weekly conference.

“I just told Mike Johnson in conference that I’m cosponsoring the motion to vacate that was introduced by
@RepMTG.

“He should pre-announce his resignation [as Boehner did], so we can pick a new speaker without ever being without a GOP Speaker,” posted Mr. Massie on X, formerly Twitter.

He referenced the case of former House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), who resigned in 2015 following pressure from the hardline conservative House Freedom Caucus over what they said was him not pushing back against the Obama administration.

Mr. Boehner was succeeded by former Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).

Mr. Massie’s announcement comes one day after Mr. Johnson announced that the House would take up four bills to give assistance to Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan, in addition to legislation to ban TikTok and seize frozen Russian assets and convert that into aid for Kyiv.

The House is set to pass the bills on April 20. The bills will be sent to the Senate as one package.

The motion was filed earlier this month by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) after the House passed a $1.2 trillion bill that Mr. Johnson put forth to fund most of the government.

Ms. Greene (R-Ga.), an outspoken opponent of additional funding for Ukraine, spoke to reporters after the closed-door Republican conference meeting during which the plan was revealed.

“I am firmly against the plan as it stands right now,” Ms. Greene told reporters.

“This is such a scam and people are so done with it,” she added.

Ms. Greene did not say whether she would pursue an activation of her standing motion to vacate against Mr. Johnson in response to the announcement.

Mr. Johnson succeeded former Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in October after the latter was ousted through a motion to vacate—the first time a speaker has been ousted that way.

However, there are Democrats—including Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), and Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.)— who have said they would come to Mr. Johnson’s rescue if the motion is brought to the House floor.