When House Republicans handed a 2020 election denier the gavel after ousting former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), there were strong indications the speakership might function as nothing more than a Donald Trump plaything for the foreseeable future.
But then there were some initial signs that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) might have a spine: He has bucked his party’s right flank and worked with Democrats repeatedly to pass continuing resolutions to keep the government functioning.
Now, as he struggles to get his thin majority enough in line to pass standard budget bills and crucial aid to Ukraine, and as he faces down threats against his job from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Trump’s puppet strings begin to show.
If he hadn’t yet resigned himself to finish out his tenure by legislating as little as possible in order to avoid working with Democrats, this afternoon might’ve demoralized him enough to embrace his fate.
House Republicans once again revolted against the speaker today and tanked a procedural vote that would’ve moved forward the reauthorization of the FISA surveillance program. The bill included reforms to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to appease critics, Republicans and Democrats alike, who say the program has violated the civil liberties of Americans. The legislation was supported by Johnson, the Biden administration, and many other Republicans who have been pushing for reforms and who see some form of FISA reauthorization as critical for intelligence gathering and fighting terrorism.
The bill even had the support of right-wingers like Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) who have long fought against FISA. However, some hardliners in the Republican conference have argued the changes didn’t go far enough to rehabilitate the program, which was first authorized in 2008.
Trump seemed to agree.
“KILL FISA,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Wednesday. “IT WAS ILLEGALLY USED AGAINST ME, AND MANY OTHERS. THEY SPIED ON MY CAMPAIGN!!!”
Despite the fact that this is incorrect — a former adviser to Trump’s 2016 campaign was surveilled as part of the FBI’s Russia investigation, but under a different section of FISA from the one being voted on today — it was all 19 Republicans needed to hear in order to tank the advancement of the Johnson-backed bill for a third time this Congress. (Johnson had hoped to entice the right-flank by attaching a resolution to the bill that would’ve condemned Biden’s border policies, but that all but ensured no Democrats would vote for the measure.)
As we look toward fights on government funding and Ukraine aid, the details of today’s defeated legislation matter less than how it came to be defeated: Trump, who currently holds no elected office, will always trump the authority of the speaker in today’s Republican Party. And as he faces a motion-to-vacate threat from Greene, it seems Johnson is starting to accept that.
Just before his colleagues’ revolt, CNN reported that the speaker plans to visit Trump in Mar-a-Lago on Friday where he will stand side-by-side with the 2024 candidate for a “joint press conference” on “election integrity” — signaling he may soon become even more deeply immersed in Trump’s falsehoods, and take his true place as Trump puppet.
The Best Of TPM Today
New from Hunter Walker: Trump Falsely Claims He ‘Just Found’ New Info Exonerating Him In Stormy Daniels Affair Case
Yesterday’s Most Read Story
Donald Trump Wrings The Last Drop Of Dignity From Lindsey Graham’s Tortured Soul — David Kurtz
What We Are Reading
Republican Sen. Rick Scott softens his abortion position after Florida Supreme Court ruling — AP
Fox News buries court decision implementing a near-total abortion ban in Arizona — Media Matters
Without More Aid, Ukraine Could Lose the War, U.S. General Says — New York Times
The current Republican party is a garbage dump, fetid and corrupt.
Johnson is juggling multiple torches while standing in a pool of gasoline. He only has to drop one. The Kremlin torch is particularly problematic, because despite the Kremlin’s opacity, there seems to be factional squabbling. For one, a Trump 2.0 administration won’t correct the long-term structural problems of the Russian economy. For another, China is frustrated with its vassal state. Johnson continues to be all over the map on China, so what is the Kremlin getting for its money? Indeed, Johnson has become like God in Exodus, serving as a pillar of hot air in the day and soon a pillar of fire at night as he shows his people the way out from the Republican party.
And here are some “Fun Facts” about William Jones, who authored the 1864 Arizona abortion law: His life is a series of grifts, and he was known for being a “pursuer of nubile females”.
He abandoned his 1st wife and their children in Missouri.
His 2nd wife was a 12 year old Mexican girl. He abducted her and after a complaint submitted his resignation to President Buchanan before he was fired.
In 1864 (age 49) he married his 3rd wife, a 15 year old girl he abandoned in 1865 when he moved to Hawaii.
So, who’s more jealous, Donald Trump or Matt Gaetz?