Speaker Mike Johnson ( R- LA ) committed” three betrayals” to lead to the upcoming vote to eject him from the speakership,  , Rep. Thomas Massie ( R- KY ) said Wednesday.
Massie partnered with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene ( R- GA ), who introduced the movement to depart in April, to push the vote. Massie outlined those three disappointments at a press conference on Wednesday to announce their walk.
Funding Democrat , Priorities and Killing Regular Order Through Spending Costs
” The first treachery was the federal bill”, Massie said.  ,” Under Kevin McCarthy, we did seven distinct paying costs. Did we finally begin working on the other side when Mike Johnson took over? No, you threw the seven in the trash”.
Conservatives fought for Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA ) assurances to return spending bills in regular order. McCarthy had now assured seven of the twelve budget payments that they had passed, even though a short-term going resolution was passed in September 2023 for additional time.
” Mike Johnson disregarded and made the decision to pass an omnibus bill, an omnibus bill that spent more money than Nancy Pelosi’s omnibus bill ( passed in late 2022 ), and an omnibus bill that will give the FBI a brand-new building,” said Pelosi.
Given that the agency continues to defy the Judiciary Committee’s legal oversight, Massie took special offense at Johnson, including financing for a new FBI facility.
” However, we’re over here in our Judiciary Committee asking them for solutions”, he said. ” They mock us, they thumb their noses at us, and why should n’t they? We’re going to create them a new building and write them strong-written papers, as if we’re going to take action against their complacency.
Through the , Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act ( FISA ), empowering warrantless surveillance of American citizens
” A next betrayal of Mike Johnson was passing FISA without subpoenas”, Massie continued. What was his right method for doing this? No”.
The Judiciary and Intelligence Committees had been deliberating over the pending Part 702 measures of FISA for weeks as Congress dwelt over them. The cleverness committee strongly resembled the Trump administration and the intelligence state, which were opposed to reforms that might have required warrants before intelligence agencies had eavesdrop on American citizens.
” The authority for the FISA ( Section ) 702 programs rests with the Judiciary Committee”, Massie insisted. However, Mike Johnson made the decision to let the Intel Committee run this program.
Massie was a leader in the battle on both the Rules Committee, on which he also serves, and Judiciary for a ballot on illegal monitoring.
” We got a ballot on the floor on permits, whether you should have to have a warrant to spy on Americans”, he said. This voting is not in accordance with the Constitution. Anyone who has read the Constitution should be aware that you need permits.
He refrained from making claims that Johnson supporters had no access to the figures to battle the Biden administration’s warrants.
” You may say, also, for Mike Johnson, he’s got such a slim majority. You ca n’t get everything you want. Marjorie Taylor Greene or Thomas Massie he’s got like a thin majority”, he said. The deciding voting was made by the unwavering majority of the electorate, which established a law prohibiting American surveillance on citizens. It was 212 to 212, get look it up”.
A Speaker’s ability to cast a ballot on the floor is uncommon. Yet, Johnson cast the deciding vote to push a tie on the amendment to need illegal surveillance, striking it from the last bill.
” He did n’t vote on the other amendments”, Massie said. ” He went out of his way to voting no on that article, and was the deciding vote on FISA without subpoenas”.
Breaking His Promise to Safe the Border Before Funding Ukraine
” So what was the third betrayal, the third and final betrayal? Practically$ 100 billion for overseas wars”, Massie said.
Before going into detail about the shady political procedures taken to force the act through, Massie noted that the international support optional bill” started out as a veterans bill to grant veterans better benefits, HR 815.” Chuck Schumer took every syllable out of it, added this optional, and returned it to the House.
According to a report from Breitbart News, Johnson subsequently abused a difficult parliamentary maneuver to sway Congress’s desire to grant Israel funding in order to compel the passage of aid.
” They pretended like we voted on four individual costs”, Massie said. After those votes were cast, they changed the Senate act to one that was approved, and they sent it back to the Senate.
” This total factor was prior- conferenced with]Senate Majority Leader ] Chuck Schumer.”
Collusion between Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer
Massie concluded by pointing out that Schumer and Johnson collaborated closely to complete all three of Johnson’s “marginal” achievement in just six weeks.
Why did the Senate not change a word of any of these costs when they were introduced to the Senate from the House on all three disappointments? “he asked”. It’s because Mike Johnson was doing Chuck Schumer and Joe Biden’s selling.”
He continued:
They did n’t need to change a word any of these bills. Chuck Schumer fought against all the modifications. He requested those bills in accordance with Mike Johnson’s wishes, including FISA without warrants, an omnibus with the FBI’s new building, and$ 100 billion in foreign aid without border security. As Ms. Greene said, our border is wide open, vast available. The speech gave up on this opportunity for leverage, which was our last.
Jeffries explained what Jeffries gained by backing Speaker Johnson:
Why did Hakeem Jeffries support a Republican leader today? Are n’t they arch rivals? I mean, what does Hakeem Jeffries one after all? He wants an empty borders. He wants to increase saving. He wants to take back the lot. And most importantly, he and the Democratic convention in this place like President Trump to drop. Who do they believe you fulfill all four of those requirements? Mike Johnson will provide these things for them: increased investing, open borders, a decline of our lot, and a reduction for President Trump.
He cited the Democrats ‘ protest against Johnson’s passage of Ukraine aid, which included them waving Ukraine colors on the floor and breaking House decorum. The House Lieutenant at Arms, overseen by Johnson, did no good the offenders. Nevertheless, he did threaten to great Massie for posting a picture of the symbol waving, before walking it again after serious backlash, apparently at Johnson’s request.
He said,” We sat here and watched the total capitulation with the Democrats waving flags of another country, not the American flag,” adding that it was premeditated. You should have seen Mike Johnson wave the white flag in front of us, you know. Because it was a complete capitulation. It was humiliating not just for us, but also for all the Americans who paid their taxes only to see them leave for other countries, pay for foreign wars, and bolster our own borders without securing our own.
Republicans would have the weekend to think about before the vote, according to Massie.
” Are you going to embrace Hakeem Jeffries, like Mike Johnson has? When you return next week, will you embrace the uniparty like Mike Johnson does? Will you fight for the majority of Americans?
Bradley Jaye is a Breitbart News correspondent covering Capitol Hill. Follow him on X/Twitter at , @BradleyAJaye.
