House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told Newsmax on Monday that securing the southern border remains the No. 1 issue on his plate and for House Republicans, pushing back on claims that he's in any way planning to pass a foreign aid package without a border bill attached.
He also tried to douse the fire from his right flank that a motion to vacate would not "change the dynamic" in the House.
Johnson joined "Eric Bolling The Balance" to assure House conservatives that it's all about the border against the realities of a one-vote majority.
"We've been working very methodically with our conference and all the House Republicans, remembering that we have a one-vote margin," Johnson told Bolling. "We have said consistently from the very beginning, I mean literally from the day that I got the gavel back in October, that our national security — this is a national security supplemental package, that's how the president presented it — begins with our own border. The No. 1 issue in America, morally, constitutionally, legally, we have to get the border secured.
"That's what House Republicans have committed to, and that's always been the top priority," Johnson said.
Johnson is also taking flak from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., again, who was among conservatives quite unhappy with the spending bills that Johnson got passed to keep the government funded and open.
"Marjorie's a friend. She's frustrated and so am I," Johnson told Bolling. "We have the smallest majority in U.S. history, one-vote margin, and we have to grow the House majority. And to her point, we've got to win the Senate, and we've got to get President [Donald] Trump back in the White House. The way that we do that is very simple: We have to show the American people what we're for, not just what we're against, but what we're for."
Greene also filed a motion to vacate on March 22.
"We have to unite as a conference because clearly, with the smallest majority ever, we've got to stand together, so we have better negotiating position against the Democrat-controlled Senate," he added. "We only have one half of one third of the federal government within our majority, and it's the smallest ever.
"We have got to advance our conservative agenda and do so incrementally. If we can't throw a Hail Mary pass right now, because we don't have a larger majority, we can move that ball up the field, and we are and we will.
"Marjorie's a big part of that. She's a fierce advocate for our principles, and she'll be involved in this. But changing the speaker out doesn't change the dynamic," Johnson said.
"It's about the numbers right now. That's the problem."
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Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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