Johnson’s right wing plots revenge for speaker’s decision to turn on his Freedom Caucus roots

While hard-line Republican members of the House aren’t looking to doom Speaker Mike Johnson‘s (R-LA) new role, they are considering options to tank the spending measure passed Tuesday, which did not include the cuts that many House Freedom Caucus members were looking for.

The laddered continuing resolution with two deadlines for various appropriations bills in 2024 was passed, with House Democrats aiding Johnson, in the first step to avert a government shutdown.

HOUSE PASSES SPEAKER JOHNSON’S CONTINUING RESOLUTION IN FIRST STEP TO AVOID SHUTDOWN

However, more than 90 Republicans voted against the measure.

Spending was notably one of the complaints against former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), especially as he pushed forward a continuing resolution after promising to pass appropriations measures in regular order during his struggle to be elected in January.

But members aren’t as quick to turn on Johnson for passing such a measure, noting the situation he inherited.

One Republican aid characterized relations with Johnson as “frustrated but not yet fractured.”

“Friends, this is not the same situation as his predecessor,” Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) said in a statement. “I realize Speaker Johnson has an incredibly difficult job and deserves some runway and grace,” he continued. He did note that despite his patience with Johnson, he wouldn’t be supporting the spending bill.

Norman additionally signaled to Politico that Freedom Caucus members may look to hold up the measure during procedural votes. “There is a sentiment that if we can’t fight anything, then let’s just hold up everything,” he said.

It is unclear if they will attempt this, though, as even the most steadfast members have expressed the same patience and grace with Johnson, who they acknowledge is in a difficult position. This benefit of the doubt could be due to Johnson’s lack of distrust that plagued McCarthy.

Several hard-line conservative members have indicated a willingness to allow Johnson time to prove himself and get through the difficult situation he was handed.

“He’s got to find an opportunity to change the dynamics,” Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC) said. “If he can’t, he’s going to follow the same path of not just the immediately previous speaker but a series of them who have not really proved successful.”

Both publicly and privately to the Republican conference, Johnson has explained the struggle when it comes to spending, with a deadline Friday for a government shutdown and the potential for a large Christmas omnibus bill. According to him, the laddered continuing resolution approach is the way to avoid these.

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“I can’t turn an aircraft carrier overnight,” he said of the spending issue.

And while Johnson himself said he isn’t a fan of continuing resolutions and acknowledged the GOP opposition to it, he said he isn’t worried about a possible motion to vacate. “I’m not concerned about it at all,” he said.