Led by Donald Trump, House Republicans descend into chaos after right-wing lawmakers derail vote

WASHINGTON — Just days after returning from a two-week hiatus, right-wing fury — spurred by former President Donald Trump — paralyzed the House, dealing a blow to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R -La., while he struggles. with a threat to his leadership position.

Nineteen House Republicans have rejected a procedural step known as a “rule” vote in the House on a controversial espionage law that has renewed GOP infighting. The move effectively froze the House and left the bill in a state of limbo.

In the days leading up to the vote, House Republicans were confident they could take the lead in renewing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act – or FISA – and pass it this week. But it quickly became clear that several radical conservatives, furious with Johnson and accusing leaders of not making their voices heard, were seeking to defeat the bill.

Trump also told Republicans early Wednesday to “KILL FISA” in an 11 o’clock article on Truth Social, emboldening conservative opposition to Johnson’s reapproval plan.

All this was happening as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Grenee, R-Ga., raised a motion to step down from Johnson’s helm. It’s an effort that, if passed, would oust him from the presidency.

Greene’s decision, alongside open rebellion during the House vote, underscores growing frustration with Johnson from conservatives who say the president is not fighting hard enough for them.

One of the conservatives who derailed FISA, Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., told USA TODAY that frustration within the far-right ranks has reached such a point that he is not sure Johnson would survive an attempt to oust him, calling the House “fickle.” .”

Johnson sought to sell the proposed reauthorization of the surveillance legislation during a meeting Wednesday morning and touted other FISA reforms, emphasizing its importance, with its defenders saying they were essential to national security.

These efforts, however, proved to be in vain.

Sparks fly at GOP meeting: ‘Deja vu of deja vu’

Shortly after conservatives rejected the vote on the regulation, Republican leaders called an early meeting among Republican lawmakers to discuss the path forward.

But members who left the impromptu group did not describe it as productive.

Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, left the meeting early and said there had been “no” progress made on FISA renewal. The forum quickly devolved into members shouting at each other and blaming other lawmakers for the dysfunction, a visibly frustrated Miller said.

“If anyone says there is currently a path forward regarding FISA, they are lying,” Miller said. Johnson “literally has to pull a rabbit out of a magic hat to make this thing work at this point.”

During the meeting’s open mic session, some members called for punishing conservative agitators for scuttling the rules vote. Most lawmakers who left the intense meeting described it as a venting session, which is what GOP conference meetings have often become in recent months.

“I have a feeling of deja vu,” Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., joked.

But even amid the frustration, some lawmakers acknowledge it’s been the same for the House Republican Party in recent months.

“It’s muscle memory,” said Rep. Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D., who pointed out that votes on the rules had already failed and Republicans had moved on. “This is a bigger issue and obviously we are approaching a deadline. But that’s the muscle memory of our conference right now.

All of this chaos comes against the backdrop of Greene’s effort to oust Johnson, which she launched last month after the president worked with Democrats to avoid a government shutdown. The Georgia Republican met with Johnson for more than an hour Wednesday, but as she left the president’s office, she said Johnson simply offered “a lot of excuses.”

“He hasn’t done the job we elected him to do, and I told him so. I said, ‘None of this changes,'” Greene said. “His actions alone are the only thing that can influence me.”

If the House is frozen, will the Senate come up with its own plan?

FISA reauthorization may have a clearer path to approval in the Senate, where leaders on both sides agree on the need to expand the Espionage Act and where ultraconservative senators differ power to derail proceedings.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the Senate floor Wednesday that Congress “must ensure FISA authorities are renewed during this work period.” Congress takes another recess after next week, leaving just seven days to pass the bill before the April 19 deadline.

Republican Whip John Thune, R-S.D., told USA TODAY that the Senate would “explore options” for running the reauthorization bill given the delay in the House: “One thing we can’t do is to allow is to have it adopted. dark.”

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., said House lawmakers at Wednesday’s impromptu GOP meeting discussed the “bogeyman” of being “blocked by the Senate” if they don’t address not first the espionage bill in the lower house.

“And then someone suggested we should just let them deal with it and send it to us,” he said.

If that happens, there would be a similar debate on the Senate side over the actual content of the legislation — although the end result would likely not include the changes desired by some House lawmakers due to the general consensus within the upper room.

However, this attitude is not unanimous.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah — head of the GOP Senate Steering Committee, the upper chamber’s equivalent of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus — told USA TODAY he would oppose renewing the legislation without an amendment requiring intelligence officials to obtain a warrant before gaining access. Americans’ data, a provision that has become a major source of contention in the House.

Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, said surveillance law ‘needs serious reform’

“I’m glad this bill passed the House today, because I think it gives us an opportunity to push through some of these reforms,” he said.

Trump once again intervenes in House affairs

Trump’s foray into the debate Wednesday appears to be the final nail in the coffin for the House Republican leadership’s FISA plans. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., a strong supporter of changing the law, told reporters Wednesday morning that the former president was “right” and that his comments helped their cause.

Asked if Trump’s message influenced votes in the House, Vance — a close Trump ally in the Upper House — joked: “It certainly didn’t hurt.” »

Johnson said this week he planned to speak with the former president and defended his plan, arguing that efforts to renew FISA already include many reforms and give the law “real teeth” to fight against abuse.

Johnson will soon have the opportunity to speak with Trump in person. Just days after the former president’s comments appeared to throw the House into chaos, the speaker is expected to give a joint news conference with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on election integrity.

Rep. Troy Nehls, Republican of Texas, a Trump loyalist and far-right member who often defends Johnson, lamented that the speaker had an “impossible job” and agreed with the sentiment that Trump’s comments likely contributed to to the paralysis of the House.

But when asked if he would listen to Trump over Johnson, Nehls didn’t hesitate.

“Oh yes,” Nehls said. “If President Johnson isn’t getting advice from Donald Trump, he’s missing a lot.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: House Republicans in chaos after Trump intervenes, conservatives rebel