Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) believes Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has to “be better” in order for the House to “get things done” as the government faces a partial shutdown this week.
McHenry, who served as speaker pro tempore in October after the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, sounded frustrated over the lack of progress on a deal to keep the government funded, telling CNN’s Manu Raju, “We can avoid [the shutdown]… but it’s time to get on with the deal rather than dither. We can do it.”
The House was at a standstill after McCarthy’s ouster, with McHenry’s abilities limited due to his temporary status. After several candidates failed to get the required votes, Johnson was elected speaker.
But while he has avoided some problems his permanent predecessor faced, the Louisiana Republican has not found it easy to make all House Republicans happy, with hard-line conservatives such as those in the Freedom Caucus making demands ahead of the spending fight and more centrist members of the GOP conference eager to pass more legislation, even if it means working with Democrats.
“We need to get into the mode of getting things done, not punting things and pushing off into the future,” McHenry said Sunday while adding that he wants Johnson “to succeed.” Raju then asked him whether he thought it was a mistake for Johnson to kill the bipartisan Senate border deal.
“I think you have to bank policy wherever and whenever you can get it,” the North Carolina Republican replied.
McHenry surprised many people in December when he announced that he would not seek reelection when his term runs up at the beginning of 2025.
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Ahead of the government shutdown deadline, Johnson reportedly told members of his party that dissension among House Republicans had given Democrats the upper hand in negotiations. Republicans disagreed on details in the first four spending bills, which will cover operations through the end of February.
Lawmakers have until March 1 to pass funding for the Departments of Agriculture, Energy, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs. Johnson told members on the call that he was optimistic about meeting that deadline but admitted a partial government shutdown was still possible.
