Speaker Mike Johnson told Republican holdouts on the party’s crucial budget plan in a private meeting Wednesday night that they could oust him from the speakership if he doesn’t follow through with his fiscal promises, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter who were granted anonymity to discuss it.
Johnson pledged to abide by the House budget instructions, including a minimum of $1.5 trillion in spending cuts, for the domestic policy megabill that Republicans are now able to pursue on party lines after Thursday’s successful vote.
The “motion to vacate” the speaker comes up often in the House GOP conference. But the speaker’s comments, the people said, acknowledged that fiscal hawks could trigger a vote on his removal as speaker if doesn’t follow through. Several people in the room chuckled after the remark, they said. But hard-liners are planning to hold him to it.