He’s pee-fect.
Speaker Mike Johnson has come under fire from several hardline Republicans but one GOP senator thinks the House leader is overflowing with greatness.
“I’ve known Mike a long time,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told “Fox News’s Fox & Friends.”
“The man pisses excellence, he’s doing the best he can under tough circumstances.”
Johnson (R-La.) has enraged a handful of far-right members of his conference by forging ahead with a series of foreign aid packages this week, particularly military assistance to Ukraine.
The hardline Republicans are reluctant to approve another spending measure without concessions.
House Republicans dropped the text for three of those packages Wednesday on Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific. Johnson has his sights set on a Saturday vote for each measure.
The speaker defended his plan by insisting it allows lawmakers to vote their conscience on each of those topics.
Kennedy’s “excellence” comment wasn’t the only accolade for Johnson to come from Louisiana. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) similarly backed the speaker.
“@SpeakerJohnson makes tough decisions. That’s what leaders do. Thank you for serving Louisiana, the House, and the American people,” Cassidy said.
But not every Republican senator believes Johnson is a fountain of efficiency. Over the weekend, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) suggested there isn’t much of a difference between Johnson and the Democrats.
And in the House, which Republicans barely control, Johnson has faced a mountain of criticism.
Already, two members — Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) — have dangled a motion to vacate the chair.
Others have become more outspoken about their dismay at the speaker, voicing criticism ranging from opposition to any vote on Ukraine aid to frustrations over the lack of significant concessions from Democrats.
“@SpeakerJohnson needs to go back to Biden & Schumer and tell them he needs a border security measure to pass foreign aid,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) posted on X.
“It’s inconceivable that our Speaker cannot extract a single change to the President’s 60+ executive orders.”
Fellow Louisianan Republican Rep. Garret Graves — one of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) most ardent supporters during the mutiny against him last October — bashed Johnson’s legislative strategy.
“In a word, no,” he told reporters when asked if Johnson’s approach made sense, noting that President Biden wanted the foreign aid bills sent to his desk. “What are Republicans getting out of this?”
Even the traditional rabble-rousers have shown some reluctance to pull the trigger on a motion to vacate, given the prospect of it thrusting the House into total disarray again.
“I haven’t decided on that yet,” Greene told reporters Monday after a GOP conference meeting. “It’s a very serious matter.”
“I support the majority, and I want it next time, so I’m being careful. I also respect my colleagues,” she went on. “A motion to vacate is such a serious issue [it] should be handled responsibly, not just willy nilly.”
Republicans are grappling with a wafer-thin majority in the lower chamber and there are lingering fears that they might not be able to find a consensus candidate to replace Johnson.
Amid the upheaval, moderate Republicans and foreign policy buffs have rallied around Johnson.
Several Democrats such as Reps. Thomas Suozzi (D-NY) and Adam Smith (D-Wash.) have hinted that they may bail Johnson out.
Many Democrats have prodded Johnson for months to take up a vote on a bill replenishing aid to Ukraine and feel he shouldn’t be dethroned for doing so. But Democratic leadership has not made any commitments.
