Exclusive — Jim Banks: Speaker Johnson ‘Handed the Speaker’s Gavel Over to the Democrats’

America needs a House and Senate filled with members who are aligned with “Donald Trump’s America first agenda,” Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) said during an interview on Breitbart News Saturday in which he said that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) essentially “handed the Speaker’s gavel over to the Democrats.”

Banks discussed Johnson flip-flopping on Ukraine aid and discussed one of the more shocking developments over the last week.

“Mike Johnson has handed the speaker’s gavel over to the Democrats and said here, you guys take control. I mean, that’s there’s no other explanation for it. As you said, it was one thing when the Democrats carried the rule out of the rules committee, but there were more Democrats who voted for the rule on the floor of the House than the Republicans because I think 55 of us on the Republican side, roughly 25 percent of us in the House in the Republican Conference voted against the rule because we know this is betraying the voters who gave us the majority to begin with,” the Senate hopeful said, explaining that conservative members have been saying for years that the United States border must be secured before giving more aid to Ukraine.

“And then our Republican Speaker does exactly the opposite of that. I mean, I’m beside myself. I can’t believe he did it. I don’t have a good explanation for why he did it. But the fact of the matter is, he’s turned the majority over to the Democrats and at this point I don’t know the difference between Nancy Pelosi and Speaker Mike Johnson. I mean, nothing, nothing that this guy has done is any better than what Nancy Pelosi did. So it’s deeply disappointing,” he said, noting the possible dangers moving forward, as any ousting attempt could be extremely tight because Republicans have just a one-seat majority.

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“I don’t know the difference between a Democrat speaker and Republican Speaker Mike Johnson at this point. I mean, he’s done everything th Democrats have wanted him to do, so I’m not sure that it can get worse but with a one seat majority if you oust him, does a Democrat assume the Speaker’s chair? Does that lead to something that’s even …. worse than what we’ve seen come out of Johnson?” he asked, noting that come November, current Republican leaders in the House have “got to go.”

Banks said he believes there will be a good chance of success with former President Donald Trump leading the ticket but reemphasized that current leaders must be “replaced by the Republican conference.”

“I think that’s a widespread sentiment in the House. As you know, I’m running for the Senate to move over to that chamber. And there’ll be new leadership in the Senate. There has to be Republican leadership in the House and the Senate who are aligned with Donald Trump’s America first agenda. And right now with the current House, the current crop of House leadership, that’s not what we’ve got,” he added.

Breitbart News Saturday airs on SiriusXM Patriot 125 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Eastern.