Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is getting a free pass from hard-line Republicans who are upset with his approach on keeping the government open with a “clean” funding extension, but are holding him to a different standard than former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) — for now.
“Everybody gets a mulligan,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who voted against the continuing resolution (CR).
Weeks ago, Gaetz led a group of eight Republicans who joined with Democrats to oust McCarthy from the Speakership in part because of how he pushed through a CR with the help of Democrats.
But the same members who rose up against McCarthy were much more forgiving of Johnson’s very similar move — even as they lament that the latest, two-step CR did not include spending cuts or set up the House to extract conservative policy concessions from the Senate and White House.
