Freedom Caucus board sends warning shot to Johnson despite making him Speaker

 Board members on the House Freedom Caucus sent a warning shot to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) shortly after he was reelected Friday, despite the members voting to let him retain the gavel.

The letter, signed by 11 members and led by Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris (R-Md.) and Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), said that they voted for Johnson to be Speaker “because of our steadfast support of President Trump and to ensure the timely certification of his electors,” in reference to a Monday certification of the 2024 election.

“We did this despite our sincere reservations regarding the Speaker’s track record over the past 15 months,” the letter said.

The signatories said Johnson should have committed to various measures to ensure work can be done quickly, including modification of the House’s calendar to be in session for five days per week instead of three and a half in the first eight out of 10 weeks of the new Congress. They also said any reconciliation package should reduce spending and the deficit, members must be allowed to offer amendments to legislation, and leadership should abide by a 72-hour rule to give members time to read and debate proposed legislation.

The letter also said Johnson should have committed to not relying on Democrats’ support for passing bills nor push forward bills that don’t have the support of most Republicans.

“Now, Speaker Johnson must prove he will not fail to enact President Trump’s bold agenda,” the letter states, outlining seven areas that legislation put forward should cover.

It called for fully securing the southern border to stop illegal immigration while enacting border security reforms without expanding immigration or amnesty, cutting spending to reduce the deficit and create a path to balancing the budget, and reversing the Biden administration’s policies, including student loan “bailouts” and electric vehicle rules.

The letter also notably called to “not increase federal borrowing before real spending cuts are agreed to and in place.”

More than 30 Republicans voted against a short-term spending bill in December that included a last-minute debt ceiling increase. President-elect Trump had requested Republicans raise the debt limit before he takes office in order to prevent Democrats from using it as a leverage point next year. But GOP fiscal hawks balked at raising the nation’s borrowing limit without slashing federal spending, and the bill did not pass.

The members also called to “end stock trading by members of Congress.”

The number of signatories — 11 — is notable given the new threshold to force a vote on ousting the Speaker.

Leaders of the House Freedom Caucus and conservatives in the Main Street Caucus in November struck a deal to raise the threshold to trigger a snap vote on ousting the Speaker to nine members, and the House Rules package text released Wednesday reflected that agreement.

“Personalities can be debated later, but right now there is zero room for error on the policies the American people demanded when they voted for President Trump — the ones necessary to save the country,” the letter states.

Also signing the letter were Republican Reps. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Scott Perry (Pa.), Clay Higgins (La.), Michael Cloud (Texas), Andy Ogles (Tenn.), Eli Crane (Ariz.), Eric Burlison (Mo.), Ralph Norman (S.C.) and Andrew Clyde (Ga.). Almost all of them had declined to reveal whether they would support Johnson ahead of the Speaker vote, though Higgins — a Louisianan like Johnson — has been a supporter of Johnson.

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5066324-house-freedom-caucus-mike-johnson/