Republicans are alternately ripping their House leaders, dismissing the losses incurred this week, and looking for a way to move past the debacles. Speaker Mike Johnson put two measures to a floor vote on Tuesday night, only to lose in full public view on the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and military aid to Israel. Some members said they cut Johnson slack because he's new to the job, while saying there's no denying the embarrassment, the Hill reports. "That was a really massive failure," one said. Another said it "was not a good night for Republicans in the House, and anybody who says it was is not being honest."
If Republicans wanted Johnson to accept blame for the chaos, they were disappointed. "I don't think that this is a reflection on the leader," he said. "It's a reflection on the body itself, and the place where we've come in this country." Johnson received cover from some members, per Politico, including one who said he had no complaints about holding the impeachment vote and another who said, "If that makes us look dysfunctional, I can think of far more examples than that." There was resentment of the Republicans who voted against the party line, though.
Rep. Ralph Norman, for example, didn't like retiring Rep. Ken Buck's vote against impeachment. "Ken Buck is leaving. I don't understand that," Norman said. "He could have done it just for the Republican Party." Johnson insisted his caucus is on track, as he tries to add votes to try again on both measures next week. "When things don't go right on the floor, you've got to examine your leadership team and figure out what went wrong," said Rep. Byron Donalds. "But at the same time, you've got to get on to the next piece of business. You can't overly dwell on it. I'm not." (More House Republicans stories.)
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