Mike Johnson's Predecessor Turns on Him

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has received more criticism from within his own party with North Carolina Rep. Patrick McHenry disparaging him over his failure to pass a Ukraine aid bill.

Speaking on CNN on Sunday, McHenry, who served as interim speaker following the ousting of Kevin McCarthy last year, called on Johnson to pass a bill that would provide aid to Ukraine. McHenry intimated that he was questioning his leadership.

Newsweek contacted representatives for Johnson by email to comment on this story.

"My hope is that my Republican leadership will make the right decision, put it on the floor for a vote, and when they do that, it will pass, and it will pass by a wide majority," McHenry said.

When asked about whether he would sign a discharge petition, McHenry added to CNN chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju: "I have not seen one presented, Manu. I have not seen one presented."

The Context

Legislation to provide a $95 billion aid package has hit yet another stumbling block, after Johnson sent the House home for a two-week recess without voting on the measure. It had been approved by the Senate last week.

The package includes $61 billion for Ukraine, $14 billion for Israel and $4.83 billion to help America's allies in the Indo-Pacific region. It would also provide $9.15 billion in humanitarian aid to conflict zones.

Johnson said he was opposing the package because it did not include spending on border security, amid rising encounters on the U.S.-Mexico border. Other Republicans, including GOP frontrunner Donald Trump, are concerned about the level of spending in the proposed legislation.

"[In] the absence of having received any single border policy change from the Senate, the House will have to continue to work its own will on these important matters," Johnson said in a statement last week. "America deserves better than the Senate's status quo."

House Democrats have filed legislation that could be used as a vehicle for a discharge petition to force the House to vote on the aid bill.

A discharge petition would require the support of 218 House members for the package to go to a vote without Johnson's backing.

Similarly, Republican campaign group Republicans for Ukraine last week announced a "six-figure digital ad" campaign aimed at the 10 House Republicans they seem most likely to sign a discharge petition.

What We Know

McHenry, who announced he will retire in January after 20 years in office, has been vocal in his criticism of Johnson's approach to the deal. On Wednesday, he told CBS's Major Garrett: "You can either die as speaker and worry about them taking you out, or live every day as your last. Get something out of it. If you lead and get big things done, your reputation enhances. Your ability to get the next deal done is enhanced.

"We've thrown him into the deepest end of the pool with the heaviest weights around him and [we're] trying to teach him how to learn to swim. It's been a rough couple of months," McHenry told Garrett.

He also said to CNN: "It is time to get on with the deal, rather than dither."

"We need the Speaker to do better," he added. "As a House Republican, I want him to succeed."

Views

In an opinion piece published in The Hill on Saturday titled, "History confirms Republicans rejected a once-in-a-lifetime immigration opportunity," C. Stewart Verdery Jr., a former assistant secretary for Homeland Security during the George W. Bush administration, said that Republicans will regret striking down the bill as it will likely "never reappear."

"This 2024 window for an enforcement-only bill is briefly open and will likely never reappear. Border hawks may be cheering the demise of the Senate bill, but they will regret it," Verdery Jr. wrote.

What's Next?

The political deadlock could lead to a government shutdown, which will happen in the first week of March if Congress doesn't pass necessary budgets to maintain funding for federal agencies. However, Congress could instead pass a continuing resolution to give lawmakers more time to pass a budget.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.