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Lauren Boebert is planning to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson
Lauren Boebert, who previously praised House Speaker Mike Johnson, now contemplates wielding the power she claims to have helped unlock in House rules.
Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert, who was involved in the ousting of former GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, hinted that the same fate could await his successor, Mike Johnson.
Boebert made the remark on Thursday, during an appearance on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast, a platform for far-right views. She claimed that she played a key role in changing the House rules in January 2023 to allow a single member to initiate a motion to remove the speaker.
She did not name the person who did so, Rep. Chip Roy has admitted it in interviews — but said that many of her Republican allies had urged her to use that “lever of accountability” against the current speaker if the House failed to function effectively.
“I don’t want to get there, but we need leadership,” Boebert said.
“We have to have some follow-through on the promises that we have made to the American people.”
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If Boebert or any other Republican member filed a motion to unseat Johnson from leadership, and he was voted out by the House, it would be the second time in half a year and the second time in US history that a speaker was removed.
Boebert bonanza
Boebert’s attack on the Republican House speaker came shortly after she praised his endorsement of her reelection campaign in a different congressional district and several months after she was embroiled in a groping and vaping scandal at a Denver “Beetlejuice” show.
“I am very grateful to have the support of Speaker Mike Johnson!” Boebert tweeted on January 3. “I look forward to working with him to get President Trump reelected and defend our majority.”
On Wednesday, Representative Lisa McClain took a jab at Boebert’s lack of decorum before the Washington Press Club Foundation Dinner. She singled out Boebert by name.
“If everyone could, please keep their hands above the table. And I know it’s date night for some of you, but no inappropriate touching,” McClain said.
“That includes you Lauren Boebert. No vaping, either,” she continued, to a burst of astonished laughter.
McClain, who calls herself a “Trump-lovin’ MAGA Republican,” also used the humorous occasion to mock “Oscar winner, an Emmy winner, a two-time Olympian” George Santos, and to caution the press club to watch out for the cutlery with Senator Bob Menendez, who faces bribery charges.
