GOP chair: Johnson ouster could empower Democrats with ‘world on fire’

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul (R-Texas) on Sunday warned that ousting Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) could embolden Democrats at a time of international turmoil.

An ouster of Johnson is on the table after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Friday filed a motion to vacate the chair, a procedural move that could lead to a vote to remove Johnson. He’s been Speaker since October, when he replaced the ousted former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

“I think it’s indicative that even [Rep.] Matt Gaetz [R-Fla.], who was the architect of ousting McCarthy, is saying this would be a huge mistake, because it could actually throw the balance of power over to [Rep.] Hakeem Jeffries [D-N.Y.],” McCaul said during a Sunday interview on CBS News’s “Face the Nation.”

Gaetz filed the motion to vacate that led to McCarthy’s ouster.

McCaul on Sunday stressed the importance of Congress’s ability to govern when various international conflicts are taking place abroad.

“And with the world on fire the way it is, we need to govern. And that is not just for Republicans, but in a bipartisan way, get things done for the country,” he said. “That’s in the national security interest of the United States. This is not just Ukraine. It’s Israel and Indo-Pacific as well.”

Gaetz was one of several Republicans who warned such a move could leave the lower chamber with a Democratic leader.

“When I vacated the last one, I made a promise to the country that we would not end up with a Democrat speaker. … I couldn’t make that promise again today,” Gaetz told reporters last week.

Greene last week indicated she would not immediately trigger a vote on ousting Johnson and called the motion “basically a warning.” She stressed she could force a referendum on his standing in the House at a later date.

Several House Democrats suggested last week they would be willing to help rescue Johnson from a motion to vacate, especially if he moves Ukraine aid.

McCaul on Sunday said Johnson is committed to putting a vote for Ukraine funding on the House floor some time after Easter.

“His commitment is to put it on the floor after Easter and we are working on this bill,” he said, later emphasizing he would like it done “as soon as possible.”

McCaul, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has been a vocal supporter of approving additional funding for Ukraine in its fight against Russia. Funding for the embattled nation has been left in limbo for more than a year amid sharp divisions in Congress.

“I think the situation Ukraine is dire. … If we lose in Ukraine like Afghanistan and then lose to Putin, let him you know, take over Ukraine and Moldova, Georgia, and abandon our allies like we did in Afghanistan — Does that make the United States weaker or stronger? I think weaker,” McCaul said Sunday.

Asked why there is a lack of urgency by Johnson to approve further aid to Ukraine, McCaul said the Speaker is in a “difficult spot.”

“He understands this. He is in a very difficult spot, and this motion to vacate the chair thing — I believe he’s committed because he understands national security. And leans on, you know, myself, the chairman of Armed Services, House Intelligence, for advice on this and he knows how important this is,” McCaul said.