Steve Bannon Warns of 'Firestorm' That Could Destroy Republicans

The flames that ignited a political firestorm among House Republicans are bound to get bigger and hotter in the months ahead, according to Steve Bannon.

An already-slim GOP majority became slimmer on Friday when more than 100 House Republicans joined Democrats to expel embattled New York Representative George Santos, making him the sixth House member in U.S. history and third since the Civil War to be expelled. The first openly gay non-incumbent Republican, who won his bid for Congress in a pro-Joe Biden district, faces a 23-count federal indictment but maintains his innocence on all charges.

Speaker Mike Johnson, who in late October replaced the vacated Kevin McCarthy, opposed Santos' expulsion and is working to mend a conference in which members have been outspoken about curbing government spending, continued aid for Ukraine in its war against Russia, and impeaching the president and other administrations officials such as Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Bannon, a former senior White House adviser in the Trump administration, told Newsweek via phone on Friday that the Santos vote was "100 percent" the doing of McCarthy—the longtime California lawmaker whom Bannon said is seeking vengeance for being ousted as speaker after holding the gavel for about nine months.

McCarthy used Santos "as an opening salvo" for his supposed revenge tour, he said.

"[Republicans who voted for expulsion] were all McCarthy acolytes who want to cripple Johnson," Bannon said. "This is truly a Civil War breaking out today....The line of demarcation is that vote today, and you're seeing pure, raw hate [among House Republicans]."

Johnson is also tasked with galvanizing his base while avoiding the same mistakes that cost McCarthy his speakership, notably a long-term spending plan that not only will satisfy enough House Republicans but also has a chance to pass in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

A clean stopgap spending measure was approved under Johnson to fund the federal government until February.

Bannon and other Republicans like Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida took McCarthy to task for working out a deal with Biden and the Democrats that came to fruition as the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.

In June, after Biden and McCarthy negotiated a late deal that Bannon described as a Democratic deal at heart, the former White House adviser predicted that the negotiation cemented McCarthy's early exit as speaker.

The same questions now plague Johnson, who is being pushed by Bannon, Gaetz and other members like Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene to cut spending rather than increase it, and to avoid a continuing resolution to keep the government running.

As of Friday, the national U.S. debt eclipsed $33.8 trillion. The debt ceiling bill approved in June by a vote of 314-117 lifted the $31.4 trillion debt at that time in exchange for stricter work requirements and cuts in non-defense discretionary spending.

Bannon said that rogue spending in alignment with election cycles is only ballooning the debt, and that Republicans like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell are using that as leverage against Johnson and others.

"The plan is to help Johnson help himself because the Senate has just taken this guy over," Bannon said. "They're talking about a one-year continuing resolution [CR], that they're so afraid. They're gonna have a revolt of 50 to 75 Republicans, maybe 100—an exact flip."

Part of that aid is supposedly coming from Johnson's House colleagues, such as Missouri Republican Eric Burlison.

Burlison was on Bannon's War Room podcast on Friday and said he and other conservatives will "say no" on Johnson's behalf to aid their collective cause—including not even bringing legislation to the floor, if possible.

"What that means is violating the norms and voting down the rules, but if that's what it takes, that's what we're gonna do," Burlison said. "If it means taking a trip to the border and denying them the majority, then that's what we're gonna do. At the end of the day, we're here to save America."

That includes "denying the majority" in legislative attempts for additional Ukraine funding to tend to domestic issues like immigration, Burlison added.

A spokesperson for Burlison's office told Newsweek via phone that the congressman had no additional comment.

Bannon expects House budget fights to "be 10 times nastier than before" and that they will be predicated on McCarthy's debt deal.

"[House Republicans are] gonna play hardball and actually leave town if they have to," Bannon said. "I mean, this is radical stuff, using procedures....Johnson has no real choice. The base out there is furious about no talk about massive cuts."