Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said he would vote to table any motion by Republicans to vacate House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) because he helped Democrats pass the $95 billion aid package with separate bills for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
“Congressman Khanna, does Speaker Johnson deserve credit for how this played out?” ABC’s “This Week” host Jonathon Karl asked Sunday.
Khanna replied, “He does. Look, we came into Congress together and he always cared about civility. He actually led the civility pledge. And he – we had one issue, which was give individual votes. Don’t lump things together. And I give him credit for doing this. I would actually vote to table any motion to vacate him.”
Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna tells @JonKarl that he would vote to support Speaker Mike Johnson if Republicans tried to remove him for securing Ukraine aid.
"He did the right thing here and he deserves to keep his job until the end of this term.” https://t.co/xaDuxyoG51 pic.twitter.com/znG8X4S0KR
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) April 21, 2024
“You know, Congressman McCaul quoted Churchill. One of the things Churchill said is that America always exhausted every wrong option until doing the right thing. And this shows that American democracy still is very strong.”
Karl circled back to the notion of Johnson being challenged by his GOP colleagues, asking, “You just said something significant. You said you would oppose the tabled – the motion to vacate. In other words, you will protect Speaker Johnson’s job if Marjorie Taylor Greene and the others go through with their threat to try to remove him?”
Khanna said, “I would, through the end of the term. I expect Speaker Jeffries will be there in 2025.”
“But look, I’m a progressive Democrat and I think you would have a few progressive Democrats doing that,” he continued. “And I disagree with Speaker Johnson on many issues and have been very critical of him. But he did the right thing here and he deserves to keep his job until the end of his term.”
House GOP Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), Paul Gosar (Ariz.) and Thomas Massie (Ky.) announced a resolution to oust Johnson from his Speakership last week for refusing to include funding to secure the open southern border in the massive foreign aid package.
MTG announces on Bannon's War Room that Paul Gosar will join her and Thomas Massie to cosponsor a motion to vacate Speaker Johnson. pic.twitter.com/3EBX10dcPq
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) April 19, 2024
Mike Johnson is such an effective Speaker — for Democrats — that they’re openly admitting they will ensure he keeps his speakership until the 2024 election.