Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) slammed the idea of moving forward with the motion to vacate current Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), calling it “totally stupid.”
Gingrich argued he does not think another GOP member could get 218 votes to succeed Johnson, and the chamber would be embroiled in more turmoil.
“It would be totally stupid,” Gingrich told Politico in an interview published Friday. “My question would be, ‘Show me the 218 you’ve got for somebody,’ because otherwise what you’re doing is putting us through three weeks of looking like idiots — which [Rep. Matt] Gaetz [R-Fla.] managed to do.”
The former speaker referenced Gaetz’s motion to vacate, which led to the removal of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in October, an action that paralyzed the House for three weeks as it struggled to elect the next leader.
“It was bad enough that it took 15 ballots for McCarthy to finally win. But to then turn and destroy his Speakership, throwing the entire party and the entire House into [chaos],” Gingrich said.
Some Republican conference members have voiced frustration with Johnson. Two Republican lawmakers, Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (La.) and Thomas Massie (Ky.), said they would support a motion to vacate Johnson’s post. The motion has not been triggered, so far.
Gingrich emphasized the responsibilities members of the House have as elected legislators and said the GOP members in the lower chamber do not look like a majority that can effectively govern.
“You’ve got to remember, this isn’t some game at a PTA meeting,” he said. “This is the House of Representatives. It has serious constitutional obligations. We live in a dangerous world, and we look like we are absurdly incapable of governing ourselves.”
Tyler Mitchell