Dem
51
GOP
49
Generally, heading into an election cycle, a party would like its members to be on the same basic page. That is definitely not happening with the Republican Conference in the House of Representatives, where there is much infighting going on right now.
Most obviously, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) despises Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and would like to see him removed. Monday, for example, she slammed Johnson because he "FULLY FUNDED Biden's deadly open border." We don't quite understand this critique; wouldn't cutting all border funding make things worse? Shouldn't her complaint be that Johnson did not allocate ENOUGH money for the border? Maybe it's the new math, or something.
In any case, Greene may not be the brightest bulb, but she's clever enough to know that trying to remove Johnson from the speakership, and failing, would be a very bad look for her. If she is going to move forward with her motion to vacate, however, she's got two problems to overcome. The first is that she needs to round up at least a few Republican votes in support of removal. Then she has to make sure the Democrats won't vote to save Johnson's bacon. There is no indication that she's had any success on either front.
Meanwhile, while the back-stabbing usually emanates from the Freedom Caucusers (and the sorta Freedom Caucusers, since Greene was technically expelled from the group), it doesn't HAVE to be that way. Many GOP members are tired of FC shenanigans, and are gunning for the group's chair, Rep. Bob Good (R-VA). Leading the charge is Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI), who says, "Bob Good's wearing our jersey, and he's not on the team."
Good, given his far-rightness, is not actually a great fit for his district, VA-05, which is R+7. So, Van Orden and several of his colleagues are backing state Sen. John McGuire (R), who is somewhat more moderate and is a former Navy SEAL. The anti-Good forces just so happen to have the backing of former speaker Kevin McCarthy, whom Good voted to depose. That means that McGuire will have as much money as he needs to mount his bid. Of course, the risk to Republicans is that Good tacks hard to the right, gets the nomination, and then is compromised for the general. An R+7 seat is a tough nut for a Democrat, but it's not impossible. Especially since the blue team's likely nominee is Paul Riley, a moderate U.S. Army veteran. The primary is June 18. (Z)