Congress

If the speaker can wade through the conservative blowup over Ukraine aid, even his critics predict he might be able to hold on until November.

Ousting Speaker Mike Johnson now, some Republicans warn, would only remind voters of the House GOP's general mess and hurt their chances of keeping the majority as they try to win another term in power. | Francis Chung/POLITICO

By Olivia Beavers and Jordain Carney

04/19/2024 05:28 PM EDT

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Mike Johnson is drawing closer to a career-defining choice for a Republican speaker — whether to rely on Democratic help to stay in the job.

With three Republicans endorsing a motion to terminate his leadership, Johnson will need Democratic support to survive if Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) follows through on her threat to force a vote on his removal. And more conservatives could follow, enraged by Johnson’s strategy on his foreign aid package.

But if he can weather this storm, even his critics say he may be able to keep his gavel the rest of the term.

“This is one of the last big, crucial votes that we’re going to take. And we’ve known that for a long time. I think that’s why it’s so disappointing for so many people,” said Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.), one of the conservatives who voted to remove former Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

“But I think there’s a chance, if he gets through this one, that he might just make it all the way” to November, Crane added of Johnson, whom he hasn’t ruled out voting to oust. “Nothing that I’m telling you I haven’t said to his face.”

It seems to be a gamble Johnson is prepared to take, with the House set to vote Saturday on long-stalled Ukraine aid. And while he has taken proverbial beatings over government funding and spy powers........

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