House Speaker Mike Johnson has reportedly canceled his speaking slot at Turning Point USA’s annual AmericaFest following the disastrous unveiling of a spending bill, largely viewed as an abject failure of his leadership.
Johnson was originally slated to appear at the event in Phoenix, Arizona, on Friday, joining other major speakers including Donald Trump Jr., Steve Bannon, Tucker Carlson, and President-elect Donald Trump himself.
Johnson’s purported withdrawal comes as he faces significant backlash due to the spending deal released on Tuesday evening, boasting well over 1,500 pages. Conservatives have continued to uncover the massive amount of pork in the continuing resolution (CR), which includes a pay raise for Congress and a provision allowing them to opt out of Obamacare.
The failure to deliver a clean CR and instead deliver this — which many are saying is an omnibus — has caused many Republicans to bristle at the Speaker, who negotiated the bill on the Republicans’ behalf. He, they say, failed to deliver, and some offered more harsh words than others.
“I had hoped to see @SpeakerJohnson grow a spine, but this bill full of pork shows he is a weak, weak man,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said.
“The debt will continue to grow. Ultimately the dollar will fail. Democrats are clueless and Big Gov Republicans are complicit. A sad day for America,” Paul added.
Johnson “personally killed a bipartisan, bicameral expansion + spending cap RECA deal,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said, blaming the Speaker for this failure.
“It was him alone. BUT he’s willing to spend BILLIONS on Ukraine and foreign wars and every pork barrel project known to man,” he said, later concluding that Johnson has bowed to the lobbyists.
A swell of House Republicans are also speaking out against the bill, questioning how Republican leadership could possibly believe that a bill full of pork could be acceptable given the clear mandate Americans gave Republicans in November.
As a result of the failure to deliver a clean CR, Johnson’s speakership now hangs in the balance. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) was the first to publicly say that he will not support Johnson in the speakership vote on January 3.
“I’ll vote for somebody else,” Massie said, according to Politico. “I’ve got a few in mind. I’m not going to say yet.”
Others have signaled they could be open to withdrawing their support as well.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to January 3. I mean, this does create a problem for the Speaker. There’s no doubt about it. Is this the leadership that we’re going to have?” Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI), a member of the House Freedom Caucus, replied on Breitbart News Daily on Thursday when asked if he will support Johnson in January.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) also hinted that she could follow suit.
“The government can shut down all the way until Jan 20th as far as I’m concerned. AND WE MUST STAND FIRM WITH THE AMERICAN PEOPLE TO STOP THE MADNESS!! No matter what,” she said. “Even if we have to elect new leadership. I’m ALL IN.”