House Republicans convene to push immigration, environmental policies as Johnson ouster threat stagnates
Good morning, US politics blog readers.
The House of Representatives is back in business today and its Republican majority is trying to make the most of their time in control of Congress’s lower chamber, with plans to take up a host of bills reflecting conservative priorities on immigration and the environment. Among these is a resolution denouncing Joe Biden for the wave of undocumented people that have crossed the southern border during his presidency, and bills to allow oil production on protected land in Alaska and to remove the classification of gray wolves as an endangered species. While some Democrats may lend support from across the aisle, many of these proposals are simply messaging bills meant to impress GOP voters back home ahead of the November elections, and will probably be rejected by the Democratic-led Senate.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a work day for the House GOP without some infighting. Rightwing congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has proposed ousting speaker Mike Johnson from office, citing, among other things, his support for Ukraine. The warning has lingered for more than a month and only one other Republican has signed on, but Greene continues to insist that Johnson’s “days as Speaker are numbered” – we’ll see if she makes any progress when she returns to Capitol Hill today.
Here’s what else is happening:
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Joe Biden is doing nothing public today, but White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre will tango with reporters at her 1.30pm ET briefing.
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Donald Trump’s trial in New York on charges related to allegedly falsifying business documents has the day off today, but will resume on Tuesday.
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Secretary of state Antony Blinken is visiting Saudi Arabia, where he said “measurable progress” had been made in getting aid into Gaza. Follow our live blog for more.
Key events
One big story about which we do not expect any news today is Donald Trump’s trial on charges of falsifying business records in New York, which is taking Monday off. But as the Guardian’s David Smith reports, for the former president’s supporters, the trial may as well not be happening at all:
In one America, he cuts a diminished, humbled figure during coverage that runs from morn till night. “He seems considerably older and he seems annoyed, resigned, maybe angry,” said broadcaster Rachel Maddow after seeing Donald Trump up close in court. “He seems like a man who is miserable to be here.”
But in the other America – that of Fox News, far-right podcasts and the Make America Great Again (Maga) base – the trial of the former president over a case involving a hush-money payment to an adult film performer is playing out very differently.
Here, anger at what is seen as political persecution meets with another emotion: sublime indifference. Barely a handful of Trump supporters bother to protest each day outside the court in New York, a Democratic stronghold. The trial receives less prominence in conservative media, which prefers to devote airtime to other national news including protests on university campuses against the war in Gaza.
The divergence ensures that, with TV cameras not permitted in court, two rival narratives are forming around the first criminal trial of an ex-US president. In one telling, Trump is a philander who falsified business records to illegally influence the 2016 presidential election. In the other, he is the victim of a justice department conspiracy designed to rob the Republican nominee of victory in 2024.
Politico has attempted to get a sense of just what Marjorie Taylor Greene plans to do, and when she plans to do it.
They report that many senior House Republicans think Greene will ultimately drop her effort to boot Mike Johnson from the speaker’s chair, which drew a strong denial from a staffer to the Georgia congresswoman.
“That’s absurd,” her deputy chief of staff Nick Dyer told Politico, while declining to elaborate on when Greene would act.
He added:
Anyone who is saying she is backing down is high, drunk, or simply out of their mind.
Will far-right Republicans seek revenge on Mike Johnson for Ukraine, surveillance votes?
When the House gets back to work today, may find out whether Marjorie Taylor Greene’s push to remove Mike Johnson as speaker has any momentum.
The Georgia congresswoman made the proposal more than a month ago, after the speaker worked with Democrats to pass government funding bills that Greene objected to. In the weeks since, he has again worked with the House minority to pass legislation approving aid to Ukraine and Israel, and reauthorizing a controversial surveillance law.
Greene has continued tweeting her fury, but has not picked up much explicit support for removing Johnson so far. The only other lawmakers who have publicly signed on to the push are Kentucky’s Thomas Massie:
Speaker Johnson enlisted a majority of Democrats to override a majority of Republicans so he could:
1) pass an omnibus that spends more than Pelosi did, including a new FBI building.
2) reauthorize warrantless spying on Americans
3) send $60 billion to Ukraine
Unforgivable. pic.twitter.com/eSKWcJdu5t
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) April 28, 2024
And Arizona’s Paul Gosar:
My statement joining .@RepThomasMassie on cosponsoring .@RepMTG Motion to Vacate:
Gosar Statement on Supporting the Motion to Vacate the Speaker
Washington, D.C. — Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-09), issued the following statement after cosponsoring H.Res. 1103,…
— Rep. Paul Gosar, DDS (@RepGosar) April 19, 2024
When Kevin McCarthy was ousted as speaker last year, it took the votes of eight Republicans (a group that did not include Massie or Green) and all Democrats. While such a coalition could still come together among the GOP to boot Johnson, it would run up against another problem: Democrats may not be interested in removing from office a speaker who worked with them to pass government funding and foreign aid bills, both priorities for Joe Biden’s allies.
This post has been corrected to note that Paul Gosar is also supporting the motion to remove Mike Johnson as speaker.
House Republicans convene to push immigration, environmental policies as Johnson ouster threat stagnates
Good morning, US politics blog readers.
The House of Representatives is back in business today and its Republican majority is trying to make the most of their time in control of Congress’s lower chamber, with plans to take up a host of bills reflecting conservative priorities on immigration and the environment. Among these is a resolution denouncing Joe Biden for the wave of undocumented people that have crossed the southern border during his presidency, and bills to allow oil production on protected land in Alaska and to remove the classification of gray wolves as an endangered species. While some Democrats may lend support from across the aisle, many of these proposals are simply messaging bills meant to impress GOP voters back home ahead of the November elections, and will probably be rejected by the Democratic-led Senate.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a work day for the House GOP without some infighting. Rightwing congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has proposed ousting speaker Mike Johnson from office, citing, among other things, his support for Ukraine. The warning has lingered for more than a month and only one other Republican has signed on, but Greene continues to insist that Johnson’s “days as Speaker are numbered” – we’ll see if she makes any progress when she returns to Capitol Hill today.
Here’s what else is happening:
-
Joe Biden is doing nothing public today, but White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre will tango with reporters at her 1.30pm ET briefing.
-
Donald Trump’s trial in New York on charges related to allegedly falsifying business documents has the day off today, but will resume on Tuesday.
-
Secretary of state Antony Blinken is visiting Saudi Arabia, where he said “measurable progress” had been made in getting aid into Gaza. Follow our live blog for more.