Current:Home > NewsRep. Tom Cole says "the reservoir of goodwill is enormous" for House Speaker amid effort to oust him-LoTradeCoin
Rep. Tom Cole says "the reservoir of goodwill is enormous" for House Speaker amid effort to oust him
View Date:2024-12-24 00:14:40
Washington — Rep. Tom Cole, an Oklahoma Republican who leads the House Appropriations Committee, said Sunday that despite a growing threat to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson, he's "much stronger than people seem to think," noting that "the reservoir of goodwill is enormous."
"I actually think he's, you know, empowered the center and marginalized the extremes on each side," Cole said on "Face the Nation" on Sunday. "Now, is there some risk for that? Sure. But the point is, he's gotten a lot done. I think people admire him. They genuinely like him."
- Transcript: House Appropriations Committee chair Rep. Tom Cole on "Face the Nation," April 21, 2024
The Louisiana Republican has faced pushback in recent weeks for his handling of the government funding process, prompting Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, to file a motion to vacate, threatening to bring up a vote for his ouster. That frustration was bolstered by his shepherding of a foreign aid package that the House approved on Saturday, which some conservatives also opposed. And though Greene has yet to commit to a timeline for bringing up a vote on Johnson's removal, she's gained some backers in recent days.
The effort to oust Johnson now has three public Republican supporters: Greene, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Paul Gosar of Arizona, who announced his support for the effort on Friday. Republicans have a razor-thin majority at the moment, so Johnson can only afford to lose one vote unless they get support from Democrats.
But Cole made clear that "it's a relatively small number" of Republicans who would support a motion to oust Johnson, saying he doesn't anticipate that "we'd lose the same number of Republicans that we lost with Kevin McCarthy," who was last year the first speaker to be removed from his post in October under similar circumstances.
"There's a lot of people that like the speaker, that respect the speaker, even when they disagree with him," Cole said. "They know he's honest, he's a straight shooter. They also had a taste of what it's like to go without a speaker for three weeks. I don't think they want that again."
Joining the eight Republicans who voted to boot McCarthy from the post was every Democrat. And the same might not be true for Johnson. Cole said he doesn't believe there's unified Democratic support to remove Johnson, saying that it's unlikely for Democrats who supported the foreign aid package, particularly its aid for Ukraine, to vote to oust the speaker.
"I think both sides have now seen how dangerous this is, how irresponsible it is," Cole said. "But if somebody wants to do it, it's within the rules and they can take their shot."
Kaia HubbardKaia Hubbard is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital based in Washington, D.C.
TwitterveryGood! (3778)
Related
- Is Kyle Richards Finally Ready to File for Divorce From Mauricio Umansky? She Says...
- $1 million could be yours, if Burger King makes your dream Whopper idea a reality
- Heidi Klum's Daughter Leni Embraces Her Acne With Makeup-Free Selfie
- Grammys red carpet 2024 highlights: See the best looks and moments
- NFL coaches diversity report 2024: Gains at head coach, setbacks at offensive coordinator
- Why the NBA trade deadline is so crucial for these six teams
- Fan wanted defensive coordinator job, but settles for rejection letter from Packers CEO
- Taylor Swift announces new album, ‘The Tortured Poets Department,’ and song titles
- Mattel says it ‘deeply’ regrets misprint on ‘Wicked’ dolls packaging that links to porn site
- Gypsy Rose Blanchard to Explore Life After Prison Release in New Docuseries
Ranking
- Republican Dan Newhouse wins reelection to US House in Washington
- Maurice Sendak delights children with new book, 12 years after his death
- Apple TV+ special 'Snoopy Presents: Welcome Home, Franklin' flips a script 50-years deep: What to know
- Jay-Z's Grammys speech about Beyoncé reiterates an ongoing issue with the awards
- Hurricane forecasters on alert: November storm could head for Florida
- Yes, cardio is important. But it's not the only kind of exercise you should do.
- Ohio attorney general opposes speeding up timeline for lawsuit over proposed voting rights amendment
- Maurice Sendak delights children with new book, 12 years after his death
Recommendation
-
Beyoncé nominated for album of the year at Grammys — again. Will she finally win?
-
As 'magic mushrooms' got more attention, drug busts of the psychedelic drug went up
-
Less rain forecast but historic Southern California storm still threatens flooding and landslides
-
FDA move to ban formaldehyde in hair straighteners called too little, too late
-
The View's Sara Haines Walks Off After Whoopi Goldberg's NSFW Confession
-
At least 99 dead in Chile as forest fires ravage densely populated areas
-
Who was James Baldwin? Google Doodle honors writer, civil rights activist for Black History Month
-
Gypsy Rose Blanchard to Explore Life After Prison Release in New Docuseries