Board members on the hard-line conservative House Freedom Caucus sent a warning shot to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.)
The letter, signed by 11 members and led by Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris (R-Md.)
“We did this despite our sincere reservations regarding the Speaker’s track record over the past 15 months,” the letter said.
“Now, Speaker Johnson must prove he will not fail to enact President Trump’s bold agenda,” the letter states, outlining seven areas that legislation put forward should cover.
Almost all of them had declined to reveal whether they would support Johnson ahead of the Speaker vote, though Higgins — a Louisianan like Johnson — has been a supporter of Johnson.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La) received a warning shot from board members of the hard-line conservative House Freedom Caucus. on Friday, just after he was reelected, even though the members had voted to keep the gavel.
Eleven members, led by Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris (R-Md.), signed the letter. ) as well as Rep. Referring to a certification of the 2024 election on Monday, Chip Roy (R-Texas) stated that they chose Johnson as Speaker “because of our steadfast support of President Trump and to ensure the timely certification of his electors.”.
The letter stated, “We took this action in spite of our genuine concerns about the Speaker’s performance over the previous 15 months.”.
The signatories stated that Johnson should have promised a number of actions to guarantee that work could be completed promptly, such as changing the House calendar so that it meets five days a week rather than three and a half during the first eight weeks of the new Congress. Additionally, they stated that any reconciliation package should lower the deficit and spending, permit members to propose changes to legislation, and require leadership to follow a 72-hour rule that allows members to review and discuss proposed legislation.
Johnson should have pledged in the letter to not rely on Democratic support to pass legislation or to introduce bills that lack the backing of the majority of Republicans.
The letter lists seven areas that legislation should address and concludes, “Now, Speaker Johnson must prove he will not fail to enact President Trump’s bold agenda.”.
It demanded reversing the policies of the Biden administration, such as student loan “bailouts” and electric vehicle regulations, cutting spending to lower the deficit and pave the way for budget balance, and completely securing the southern border to prevent illegal immigration while implementing border security reforms without increasing immigration or amnesty.
Notably, the letter urged the federal government to “not increase federal borrowing until real spending cuts are agreed upon and implemented.”. “”.
In December, over 30 Republicans voted against a short-term spending bill that included an unexpected increase in the debt ceiling. In order to stop Democrats from using the debt ceiling as leverage next year, President-elect Trump had asked Republicans to raise it before he takes office. However, the bill failed to pass because GOP fiscal hawks objected to increasing the nation’s borrowing limit without cutting federal spending.
“End stock trading by members of Congress,” the members demanded as well. “.”.
The eleven signatories are noteworthy considering the new threshold that will require a vote to remove the Speaker.
The House Rules package text issued Wednesday reflected an agreement reached in November between anti-chaotic conservatives in the Main Street Caucus and leaders of the House Freedom Caucus to increase the number of members needed to trigger a snap vote to remove the Speaker to nine.
According to the letter, “Personalities can be discussed later, but at this time, there is no room for error on the policies the American people demanded when they voted for President Trump — the ones necessary to save the country.”.
Republican Representatives also signed the letter. Arizona’s Andy Biggs. Scott Perry (Pa. Clay Higgins (La. Texas’ Michael Cloud, Tennessee’s Andy Ogles. Crane, Eli (Ariz. Burlison, Eric (Mo. Ralph Norman (S. A. as well as Andrew Clyde (Ga. (). Despite the fact that Higgins, who is from Louisiana like Johnson, has been a supporter of Johnson, nearly all of them had refused to say whether they would back him before the Speaker vote.
