The U.S. House of Representatives returned to work Tuesday after a three-week break that did little to cool the simmering tensions in the Republican majority.
At the moment, those tensions are focused on whether the House will vote on a $95 billion bipartisan spending package that includes support for Ukraine and Israel. The aid was requested by President Joe Biden and passed the Senate with bipartisan support.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, is threatening that if Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, brings the bill to the floor of the House, she will activate her motion to vacate, meaning a vote on whether he could keep his job would have to be held within 48 hours. If only a handful of her Republican colleagues join her and Johnson does not get the support of Democrats, he would follow the same path as his predecessor Kevin McCarthy, whose ouster last year sent the House into weeks of chaos.
We believe removing Johnson is a bad idea, and not just because he's our first home-state speaker.
In his six months at the helm of the most chaotic branch of Congress, Johnson, who is deeply conservative, has shown a laudable willingness to deal forthrightly and even negotiate across the aisle when needed. And he's needed to often, given his paper-thin majority and his colleagues' penchant for internecine feuds.
We are heartened by reports that many Republicans in the House seem skeptical of Greene's bid to remove Johnson. As it did last fall, when a restive right wing ousted then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, removing the speaker now would essentially grind Congress to a halt.
Johnson appears to be actively working to shore up his reputation with the party base. Notably, he met Friday with former President Donald Trump at an event at Mar-a-Lago, Trump's Florida estate. Reports have said that Trump is opposed to Greene's ouster effort.
In spite of the risk, we urge Johnson and his colleagues to support the $95 billion bipartisan spending package. The bill passed the Senate with 70% support, including from both of Louisiana’s Republican senators, Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy.
It includes aid to Israel, money to replenish U.S. military stocks and humanitarian aid to displaced Gazans. A growing list of Republicans, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, have called for the aid to be passed.
It is disappointing that support for Ukraine's war against Russia has become a flashpoint for some Republicans. Vladimir Putin's imperialist aggression is not just a regional threat. It is a global one. Sending aid to the beleaguered Black Sea nation protects not just American interests, but those of our allies all over Europe. It also sends a strong message to other nations which may have expansionist inclinations.