Vote to Remove Speaker Mike Johnson Looms as Foreign Aid Bills Spark Controversy in US House of Representatives

Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Moscow. April 19th. INTERFAX.RU – A vote may be started in the US House of Representatives to remove Republican Mike Johnson from the post of speaker if he tries to abolish the current rule for removing the speaker from office , an American media report.

Under the current rules, any member of the House of Representatives can vote on a motion to remove the speaker from office. At the same time, several moderate Republicans are pushing Johnson to withdraw the provision to prevent him from voting on his draft foreign aid bills. There are some members of the party at the opposition party, who are threatening to start a vote on his resignation.

Johnson himself, as writing The Hill denies that they are considering changing the rule.

“We will continue to work according to the existing rules,” he wrote on the X social network.

However, in an interview with CNN on Wednesday, the spokesperson said saidthat the mechanism for removing power from power “has been misused recently”, saying “maybe at some point we will change this.”

As reported, the draft foreign aid bills are expected to be voted on in the House of Representatives on Saturday. In particular, it is proposed to allocate $ 61 billion to help Ukraine, including $ 23.2 billion intended not directly for Kyiv, but to replenish the US military stock. $26.38 billion will be allocated to support Israel, including money to cover US military costs in response to recent attacks. $8.12 billion is also planned for the needs of the Indo-Pacific region, including Taiwan.

Johnson previously said the Ukraine bill would move away from military grants and introduce a structure for aid loans and a better accountability system.

Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who was considered a close friend of former US President Donald Trump, previously warned in 2024 that she would ask Johnson to resign if he forward with aid funding from Ukraine.

In March this year, she already submitted a request to consider the matter of the speaker resigning.