Lauren Boebert Gets Support for Becoming House Speaker

Representative Matt Gaetz floated the prospect on Thursday that Representative Lauren Boebert could be better suited to serve as House speaker than current Speaker Mike Johnson who continues facing outrage from conservatives over his support for Ukraine aid.

Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, is facing mounting criticism from House conservatives as he pushed forward on a bill to provide supplemental aid to Ukraine, which continues defending its easternmost territories against Russia who invaded the country two years ago. Conservatives have said those funds should instead be spent to secure the U.S.-Mexico border rather than on American allies.

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, last month introduced a motion to vacate against Johnson, but it was unprivileged, meaning it did not automatically compel a vote. Greene has continued to warn Johnson against passing Ukraine aid, with Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, cosponsoring the motion this week.

Gaetz, a Florida Republican, has become increasingly critical of Johnson in recent days, but has not gone as far as to support the motion to vacate. Still, he told reporters on Thursday that he believes at least one member of Congress could make a better leader than Johnson, according to the Washington Examiner.

"I don't know. Ms. Boebert could do better," he said when asked by reporters who may be able to do a better job than Johnson. Boebert, a Colorado Republican, has notably not expressed interest in becoming speaker, and neither Boebert nor Gaetz have called for Johnson's removal.

Newsweek reached out to Johnson and Boebert's offices for comment via email.

Meanwhile, Gaetz on Thursday also told reporters that he did not support a motion to vacate, but that his confidence in Johnson is "diminishing."

"I think a motion to vacate is something that could put the conference in peril. Ms. Boebert and I, we're working to avoid that. Our goal is to avoid a motion to vacate, but we're not going to surrender that accountability, particularly in a time when we're seeing America's interest subjugated to foreign interests abroad," the congressman said.

Presently, Greene and Massie are the only two Republicans who have come out in support of the motion to vacate, though others have ramped up their criticisms of Johnson. Boebert on Thursday accused him of breaking a promise to Republicans in a post to X, formerly Twitter.

"Speaker Mike Johnson flipped his position on Ukraine aid entirely after a meeting with the White House on February 28th. He owes America an honest explanation as to why he flipped. He broke his promise to us," she wrote.

If a vote is held on the motion to vacate, Johnson may need to turn to Democrats to save his speakership due to the GOP's slim majority. Representative Mike Gallagher, a Wisconsin Republican, is set to resign at the end of Friday, leaving Republicans with only a 4-seat majority of 217 to 213 Democrats.

Some Democrats, such as Representative Jared Moskowitz of Florida, have indicated they may be open to voting to save Johnson, writing on X after Massie announced his support, "My position hasn't changed. Massie wants the world to burn, I won't stand by and watch. I have a bucket of water."

On Wednesday, Johnson told reporters that this "is not a game" when asked why he was willing to risk losing his job over aid to Ukraine.

"We have to do the right thing and I'm going to allow an opportunity for every single member of the House to vote their conscience and their will on this. And I think that's the way this institution is supposed to work. And I'm willing to take personal risk for that because we have to do the right thing and history will judge us," he said.

Gaetz previously introduced a motion to vacate against former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last year, resulting in his ousting in October after eight Republicans voted alongside Democrats to remove him. He introduced the motion after McCarthy worked with Democrats to pass a bill to temporarily fund the government.