Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), a former chair of the Home Freedom Caucus, is the most recent Republican to say no to decide to supporting Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) because the Home prepares to formally elect a Speaker on Jan. 3, including uncertainty to the GOP chief’s prospects of retaining his gavel.
“Right now, I think that Mike has done an admirable job under tough conditions, but I’m going to keep my options open. I want to have a conversation with Mike,” Perry stated on “Mornings with Maria” on Fox Enterprise on Friday.
Whereas Johnson was unanimously re-nominated by Home Republicans to be Speaker once more in November, Republican frustration with how he dealt with an end-of-year short-term funding deal final week has put the GOP chief on skinny ice forward of the Jan. 3 vote.
“What members are seeking is what they think is good for the country, and they don’t see, in some cases, where Speaker Johnson has gotten us to the place where we can claim that we’ve achieved that,” Perry stated.
Perry, who was appointed by Johnson to a coveted spot on the Home Intelligence Committee earlier this yr, was much less essential of Johnson than a few of his hardline conservative GOP colleagues.
One Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie (Ky.), is already publicly pledging to vote in opposition to the Speaker on Jan. 3, citing frustration with not solely the persevering with decision however different issues like Ukraine funding over the past yr.
Johnson can’t afford multiple Republican defection on the Home ground within the Jan. 3 speakership election, assuming all members are current and voting. Republicans are set to have 219 Republicans taking the oath of workplace on Jan. 3, and all 215 Democrats are anticipated to vote for Home Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).
A number of different Republicans are declining to say whether or not they may assist Johnson.
Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), present chair of the Freedom Caucus, stated in a press release on X that he was “undecided on what leadership should look like in the 119th Congress,” citing considerations about unpaid new spending within the spending invoice not offset by cuts.
The frustration will not be restricted to hardline fiscal hawks. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) additionally stated on Fox Enterprise on Friday that she has “questions and concerns” about Johnson.
“I think last week just raised a lot of concerns about how we’re going to do things,” Malliotakis stated. “Are we going to work within our conference to get the solution, or are we automatically going to run to the Democrats to get votes?”
“We should not see our Speaker shaking hands on a deal without first coming to our conference and getting buy-in,” she added.
Perry famous that the most important difference-maker for Johnson may very well be President-elect Trump, who had proven assist for the Speaker in November however then clashed with him over the funding deal and calls for to lift the debt ceiling final week.
“I’ll tell you, the one that might be able to make the difference is, quite honestly, President Trump. Whoever the president backs, is likely to be the speaker regardless,” Perry stated.
