Rule Change Could Save Johnson's Speakership

The same foreign aid package that has put Mike Johnson's House speakership in peril might end up saving him. Punchbowl News reports that GOP leaders are considering adding language to the legislation that would make it harder to oust him or any speaker. Under the current rules, a single member of the House can trigger what's known as a motion to vacate—Marjorie Taylor Greene already has done so, though she hasn't yet moved for an actual vote. The language tweak would raise the threshold, though to what degree wasn't specified.

Johnson's predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, agreed to lower the threshold to a single member, but it ended up costing him the post. "Johnson hasn't made a decision whether he'll pursue this change," the story reads, but "he's getting pressed by scores of members to raise the threshold now." Meanwhile, Axios reports that more conservative Republicans are expected to get behind the push to oust Johnson. So far, Greene and Thomas Massie are the only two on the record. One of their major points of contention is Johnson's push to send aid to Ukraine. (More Mike Johnson stories.)