Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is facing criticism from Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) for what Massie calls “three betrayals” leading to a vote to remove Johnson from the speakership. Massie, along with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), announced the motion to vacate during a press conference where they outlined the three betrayals.
The first betrayal, according to Massie, was the omnibus bill that Johnson passed, which abandoned the regular order of passing separate spending bills. Massie also criticized Johnson for including funding for a new FBI facility in the bill, despite the agency’s lack of cooperation with constitutional oversight.
The second betrayal highlighted by Massie was Johnson’s passage of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) without requiring warrants. Massie argued that this decision was not done in the proper manner and that Johnson allowed the Intelligence Committee to handle a program that should have been under the jurisdiction of the Judiciary Committee.
Finally, Massie accused Johnson of breaking his promise to secure the border before funding Ukraine by pushing through a foreign aid supplemental bill that started out as a veterans bill but ended up being used to fund Ukraine without addressing border security issues.
Massie also criticized Johnson for collaborating closely with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on these issues, suggesting that Johnson was doing Schumer and President Joe Biden’s bidding. Massie called on fellow Republicans to consider these betrayals before the upcoming vote to remove Johnson from the speakership.
