Gosar Declares Support for Vacating Speaker Johnson

Representative Mike Johnson's (R-LA) position as Speaker of the House is on the thinnest of ice after pushing forward with a foreign aid package giving $61 billion to Ukraine, $26 billion to Israel, and $8 billion to Taiwan, without any border security stipulations. As a result, Republican hardliners are taking Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene's (R-GA) motion to vacate seriously, including Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ), who recently issued a statement supporting the removal of the Speaker.

Rep. Gosar began by describing the effects of the border crisis on America, and referred to his Congressional district as "ground zero for the invasion," which "is getting pummeled by the surge of lawbreakers."

Additionally, he said the border crisis has made every state a border state, a phrase that has been picked up by other Republicans demanding the flow of illegal immigrants to the country stop.

"Congress cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the consequence of Biden’s disastrous open border policies, nor can it idly wait for Biden to halt this invasion through executive fiat. Congress has the responsibility to solve this crisis," Rep. Gosar continued, referencing statements saying President Biden could solve the border crisis through executive action since he reversed policies put in place by former President Donald Trump.

But because of the recent decision by Speaker Johnson to advance a foreign aid bill without any provisions securing the border, Gosar signaled his support for ousting him, saying, "Our border cannot be an afterthought. We need a Speaker who puts America first rather than bending to the reckless demands of the warmongers, neo-cons, and the military-industrial complex making billions from a costly and endless war half a world away."

Rep. Greene introduced the motion to vacate in late March after Johnson rushed a vote on the so-called "Swamp Omnibus" government funding plan, although it was not filed as privileged, saying it was "more of a warning than a pink slip."

However, Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who led the charge to remove Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), has been less enthusiastic about actually going through with vacating Johnson, instead maintaining it as an accountability tool according to the New York Post.