House Republicans are grappling with a persistent problem as their conference descends into continued chaos: themselves.
Although the party has had majority control of the House since 2022, it has since been plagued by infighting between centrists and MAGA loyalists.
These different factions within the conference have led to divergent opinions on critical policies such as the growing debt deficit, border security and foreign aid.
More recently, firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., filed a motion to impeach Republican Speaker Mike Johnson for forcing a vote on a $1.2 trillion government spending package. It is unclear whether other Republicans would join her in impeaching the president just months before the general election.
The attacks among Republicans are reminiscent of the buildup that led to the impeachment of former President Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted by eight Republicans who joined all Democrats in ousting their leader just six months ago.
Now, some members are speaking out, criticizing “ultraconservatives” for forcing situations that often benefit Democrats.
“Now they are threatening our president again,” Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., told Fox Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo on Monday.
“This whole episode of removing speakers and threatening them benefits no one except the Democratic Party.”
Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., said Monday that hardline conservatives have created situations that force Republicans to side with Democrats.
“We have some members who want to focus the attention on themselves and not on the things we have to do as a conference,” Giménez continued.
“What really bothers me, Maria, is that I have to vote on legislation that is further to the left than I really want, because of this margin.”
“The ultra-conservatives are actually forcing our agenda to shift to the left because we can’t get their votes.”
Notably, the House vote to approve the $1 trillion spending package in March garnered more votes from Democrats than Republicans, as many conservatives criticized its price tag and lack of border security measures.
And as the House majority shrinks to a slim one-vote margin, those hardliners have more bargaining power than ever.
But despite his recent rise in influence in the House GOP, not much has changed in terms of policy goals.
“We are in exactly the same place right now with President Johnson, who I support, as we are with Kevin McCarthy,” Gimenez said.
“We need to get back together and get some sanity back in our conference.”
But sanity may be far away as the threat of toppling the Republican leader persists.
If Greene goes ahead with her attempt to unseat Johnson, she will almost certainly need Democrats’ votes to keep him in power — that is, if they feel friendly.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries didn’t extend that olive branch to McCarthy when he was facing pressure from hardline conservatives, and the California Republican was impeached last October because of it.
Now, with the House considering a foreign aid bill while the war in Ukraine has stalled, the House GOP has yet to reach a consensus on how to resolve the issue.
As rank-and-file Republicans vie for a bill to aid Ukraine, conservatives are warning Johnson that if he goes ahead with it, they could make good on their threats to remove him.
“We have to go back and unite Republicans to point out what our radical progressive Democratic colleagues are doing and present a real competitive vision,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said recently.
“Let me be very clear, that does not start with putting a clean bill on the ground for Ukraine,” he continued.
House Speaker Mike Johnson must rally support from centrist and conservative Republicans to advance in the House due to the historically small one-vote margin.
Members of the press swarm Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., after she introduced a motion to impeach Speaker Mike Johnson.
Greene also warned Johnson not to put Ukraine aid to a vote without first securing the border.
“If President Johnson provides another $60 billion for Ukraine border defense after FULLY FUNDING Biden’s deadly open border, the cruel joke would be on the American people,” Greene posted Monday.
“And it won’t be April Fools’ Day.”
House Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good also sent a warning to Johnson when he responded “no comment” to a CNN reporter who asked if he would want to impeach the president.
“I think that comment is a comment in itself,” he added.
Meanwhile, Johnson has said he plans to bring the foreign aid bills to the floor when Congress returns from recess next week.
“We are putting that product together and will move it immediately after the district work period,” he said Sunday.