Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), the rating member on the Home Overseas Affairs Committee, stated in an early Tuesday interview that he doesn’t assume Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) can be faraway from his put up if he places the Ukraine supplemental assist package deal on the ground for a vote.
Meeks stated on on “CNN Information Central” that he thinks sufficient Democrats would be part of with Republicans to save lots of Johnson if Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) follows via on her menace to drive an ouster vote.
“I feel so, in speaking to a few of my colleagues on the Republican aspect, and even some on the Democratic aspect,” Meeks stated on whether or not Johnson would preserve his job if Greene forces a vote on his ouster.
“So long as we’re in a position to put the supplemental on the ground and vote to make it possible for Ukraine will get the assets that it wants, he shouldn’t be eliminated for that. In my estimation, I do not assume he’ll,” Meeks continued.
Meeks’s interview comes as Home lawmakers return to Capitol Hill following a two-week vacation recess. Earlier than legislators returned to their districts in late March, Greene filed a movement to vacate the Speaker’s chair, threatening a vote towards Johnson.
All through the recess interval, Greene has not backed down from her calls for, warning Johnson towards any flooring motion on Ukraine assist. Johnson has pledged to place Ukraine assist on the ground for a vote when Congress returns from recess, however has not laid out what that package deal would appear to be.
As Johnson faces rising stress from the far-right flank of his social gathering that has come out towards Ukraine assist, some Democrats have floated the potential for voting to maintain Johnson in energy if Greene forces a movement to vacate.
When former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) confronted a movement to vacate, Democrats opted towards saving his speakership. With such a slim GOP majority, that meant only a handful of Republicans had the facility to affix with Democrats in favor of the movement to take away McCarthy from energy.
Now, nevertheless, some Democrats are signaling the calculus may be completely different, as they’ve tried for months to get Ukraine assist via with out success.
Meeks stated on Tuesday that if the Home Democratic chief, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), asks him to save lots of Johnson, he would accomplish that.
“Yeah. Hakeem’s the chief,” he stated. “However you recognize, and I can inform you from my place I understand how pressing it’s to get the help into Ukraine and to get it there now. It wanted to be there yesterday. And so that is what’s essential.”
“So it’s received to be the Senate’s invoice that has already handed,” he added, noting that any revisions to the invoice that the Senate already handed would solely add extra time earlier than it will get to the president’s desk.
