Why one vulnerable Democrat would most likely vote to save Speaker Johnson's job
Democratic Rep. Susan Wild of Pennsylvania, a top Republican target in the 2024 elections, explains why she'd likely vote to save House Speaker Mike Johnson's job.
WASHINGTON — Centrist Rep. Susan Wild, a Pennsylvania Democrat and one of the Republicans' top targets in the 2024 election, said in an interview Friday she is leaning toward voting to save Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., if conservative hard-liners force a vote to oust him from power.
Far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., has personally warned Johnson that she will file a privileged "motion to vacate," putting the question of Johnson’s political future before the full House, if he tries to pass any package that includes Ukraine aid. Other conservatives are furious with Johnson over the top-line spending deal he cut with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and have said a motion to vacate is on the table.
“I really am not inclined to help a member of the Republican Conference who wants to oust the speaker over something like either Ukraine aid or a funding deal with the Democrats,” Wild told NBC News on Friday.
Wild noted that Americans were frustrated by the stunning chaos that ensued last fall after conservative rebels successfully toppled Kevin McCarthy and Republicans struggled to agree on a successor. The House was paralyzed for three straight weeks, unable to do anything without a leader, until the little-known Johnson emerged from the dust as the new speaker.
Wild doesn't want to endure another messy legislative stoppage like that. And she's not alone. Vulnerable Democrats, known as frontliners, have been discussing the idea of supporting Johnson in the event of another motion to vacate, Wild said, arguing that voters want to see Congress function and lawmakers govern rather than stoke chaos and dysfunction.
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