Declaring the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives to be vacant.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 2(a)(1) of rule IX, I seek recognition to give notice of my intent to raise a question of the privileges of the House.

The form of the resolution is as follows:

House Resolution 1209. Declaring the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives to be vacant.

This is the uniparty, for the American people watching.

Whereas, the House Republican Conference elected Mike Johnson on October 25, 2023, after 3\1/2\ weeks of trying to decide on a new Speaker of the House.

Whereas, Mike Johnson sent the Republican Conference a letter making promises as to what type of Speaker he would be and outlining his plans going forward. Mike Johnson put forth seven tenets that would guide the Conference under his Speakership:

1. Restore trust by ensuring total transparency, open processes, and regular order.

2. Advance a comprehensive policy agenda supported by Conference consensus.

3. Promote individual Members and thus the whole team by working to understand and emphasize each Member's unique strengths, district dynamics and challenges, and individual goals and objectives.

4. Engage Members in productive working groups to formulate solutions in key policy areas and enhance our internal communications and team building.

5. Effectively message to persuasively inform the Republican base and the American people of our policy agenda, why we are pursuing it, and how it will ensure liberty, opportunity, and security for all Americans.

6. Build and utilize external coalitions in the Conservative ecosphere, including think tanks, policy groups, and other allied organizations that can contribute to our efforts.

7. Develop and grow our majority by building upon our resources and expanding the base to successfully advance our Conservative agenda.

Whereas, Speaker Johnson has not lived up to a single one of his self-imposed tenets.

Whereas, Speaker Johnson allowed the Conference only 1 day rather than

72 hours to review a 1,000-plus page bill, to which no amendments could be offered, rather than ensure ``total transparency, open processes, and regular order.''

Whereas, Speaker Johnson worked with Democrats to produce appropriations text, NDAA text, and other legislative items rather than with Republicans ``to understand and emphasize each Member's unique strengths'' and engage with them.

Whereas, Speaker Johnson relied on majority Democrat support to pass a two-part omnibus spending bill rather than advancing a ``policy agenda supported by Conference consensus.''

Whereas, on December 1, 2023, Speaker Johnson failed to protect the Republican majority when he allowed multiple votes to remove another Republican from the House of Representatives.

It was unprecedented for a Member to be removed from Congress by a two-thirds vote prior to conviction of a crime. To this day, the Republican expelled from the House under Speaker Johnson has not been convicted of a crime. Meanwhile, a Democrat now holds that seat.

Whereas, Speaker Johnson supported fully funding abortion, the trans agenda, the climate agenda, foreign wars, and Biden's border crisis rather than ensuring ``liberty, opportunity, and security for all Americans.''

Whereas, Speaker Johnson relied on Democrat votes on at least two occasions, with the first transgression occurring on March 22, 2024, with the House passage of H. Res. 1102--part 2 of the Johnson-Schumer omnibus--and the second transgression occurring on April 20, 2024, with House passage of H.R. 8035--the $61 billion Ukraine funding bill. On both occasions, the ``majority of the majority''--112 Republicans-- voted against the measures, while only 101 voted in favor.

Whereas, before Kevin McCarthy was ousted as Speaker, our Conference had passed seven appropriations bills, which were some of the strongest Conservative bills passed in decades. Speaker Johnson refused to continue this important process. He, instead, led us to another CR on January 18, 2024, and got it passed with the support of 207 Democrats and only 107 Republicans, while 106 Republicans voted against it.

Whereas, Speaker Johnson passed a third CR, this time calling it a ``process CR,'' as if that made continuing Nancy Pelosi's budget, yet again, any different from the previous CRs.

Whereas, with little to no communication with our Conference, Speaker Johnson passed the first minibus appropriations bill on March 6 and passed the second minibus appropriation bill 2 weeks later on March 22.

Whereas, a two-part omnibus split into two minibuses was crammed down our throats and passed under suspension of the rules with only one day to review it.

Whereas, Speaker Johnson's omnibus did nothing to stop Biden's deadly border invasion--it fully funded it. Speaker Johnson did nothing to stop the energy-killing Green New Deal climate agenda--he fully funded it. He did nothing to stop the weaponized Department of Justice and FBI--he fully funded them. He did nothing to stop the trans agenda on kids--he fully funded it. He did nothing to stop full-term abortions-- he fully funded them. He did nothing to stop the fueling of forever foreign wars--he fully funded them.

Whereas, on April 18, 2024, the Rules Committee passed H. Res. 1160-- the rule providing for consideration of the $95 billion foreign funding package--by a vote of 9-3. Notably, all Democrat Members of the committee voted to advance the measure to the floor while three Republicans opposed it. It is unprecedented for Members of the minority party to advance a resolution out of the Rules Committee. Since 1995, there have been a few instances of rules advancing out of committee with minority support. However, H. Res. 1160 is the only instance where this was done to bypass opposition from the Members of the majority party.

Whereas, the last instance an appropriations measure which passed the House failed to include a ``majority of the majority'' was on final passage of the fiscal year 2015 Department of Homeland Security House Appropriations bill during the 114th Congress. In the months following this failure, Speaker Boehner announced his resignation.

Whereas, in a January 26, 2024, ``Dear Colleague,'' Speaker Johnson called the Senate supplemental and border security legislation ``dead on arrival in the House.'' Likewise, in January 2024, Speaker Johnson took a trip to the U.S.-Mexico border where he said, ``If President Biden wants a supplemental spending bill focused on national security, it better begin by defending America's national security.''

Whereas, in the months following his border trip, Speaker Johnson introduced a $95 billion foreign aid supplemental with no border security attached.

Whereas, excuses like ``this is just how you have to govern in divided government'' are pathetic, weak, and unacceptable. Even with our razor-thin Republican majority, we could have at least secured the border, with it being the number one issue in the country and the issue that is actually causing Biden to trail President Trump in poll after poll.

Whereas, Speaker Johnson's capitulation on his promise to secure the border came on the heels of Laken Riley being brutally murdered, women and children being raped by illegal alien monsters, and our own Border Patrol and Texas National Guard being run over by hordes of military- aged illegals.

Whereas, great legislation, like H.R. 2 and the Laken Riley Act, are only messaging bills unless we fight to enforce them in our government funding bills.

Whereas, while serving on the House Judiciary Committee, Mike Johnson was a strong defender of individual liberties and was the chair of the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government. Despite his history as a defender of civil liberties, on April 12, 2024, Mike Johnson cast the deciding vote against requiring a warrant for U.S. person queries of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) section 702 data.

Whereas, our Conference could have also taken out funding for abortion and the trans agenda on kids, if our own Speaker would have allowed us to offer amendments. Instead, Mike Johnson worked with Chuck Schumer rather than the Conference and gave Joe Biden and the Democrats everything they wanted, no different from how a Speaker Hakeem Jeffries would have done.

Whereas, Speaker Johnson fully funded Special Counsel Jack Smith's witch hunt and 91 indictments against President Trump, our Republican Presidential nominee. House Republicans could have used our power of the purse to stop this, but Speaker Johnson didn't even let us try.

Whereas, Joe Biden's weaponized DOJ is arresting a new January 6th election protestor every single day and putting nonviolent political enemies, including veterans, mothers and fathers, and grandparents in jail for years, and the fifth January 6th defendant has now committed suicide.

Whereas, our pro-life Christian Conservative Republican Speaker Mike Johnson fully funded the Department of Justice as it is prosecuting and convicting peaceful pro-life activists who are facing 11 years in jail, again refusing to allow Republicans to offer amendments to stop these injustices.

Whereas, actions are the only thing that matter, and words are meaningless without following through on them. By passing the Democrats' agenda and handcuffing Republicans' ability to influence legislation, our elected Republican Speaker, Mike Johnson, has aided and abetted the Democrats and the Biden administration in destroying our country.

Whereas, removing this uniparty Speaker will not give the Speaker's gavel to the Democrats, which would only happen if Republicans actually vote for Hakeem Jeffries. In fact, Minority Leader Jeffries, Nancy Pelosi, and other high-ranking Democrats have publicly stated they will save Mike Johnson from a vote to vacate him. In a recent interview, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said: ``Even though we are in the minority . . . we effectively have been governing as if we were in the majority.''

Whereas, our country is nearly $35 trillion in debt and about $40 billion are added to the debt every day, our border is overrun by illegal invaders

and terrorists from over 160 countries, our people are being killed by the hundreds every single day by fentanyl, and Mike Johnson refuses to do anything about it.

Whereas, Mike Johnson is ill-equipped to handle the rigors of the job of Speaker of the House and has allowed a Uniparty--one that fuels foreign wars, tramples on civil liberties, and increases our disastrous national debt--to take complete control of the House of Representatives.

Whereas, Speaker Johnson's tenure is defined by one self-serving characteristic: When given a choice between advancing Republican priorities or allying with the Democrats to preserve his own personal power, Johnson regularly chooses to ally himself with Democrats.

Now, therefore, be it resolved, That the office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives is hereby declared to be vacant.

Yes.

Mr. Speaker, due to a medical procedure and at the advice of my doctor, I was unable to cast my votes today in the House of Representatives. Had I been present, I would have voted: YEA on Roll Call No. 187, on suspending the Rules and passing H.R. 8289; YEA on Roll Call No. 188, on the motion to table H. Res. 1209; NAY on Roll Call No. 189, on passage of H.J. Res. 109; YEA on Roll Call No. 190, on the motion to recommit H.R. 2925; NAY on Roll Call No. 191, on passage of H.R. 2925; YEA on Roll Call No. 192, on the motion to recommit H.R. 7109; NAY on Roll Call No. 193, on passage of H.R. 7109; YEA on Roll Call No. 194, on suspending the Rules and passing the House Amendment to S. 870; and YEA on Roll Call No. 195, on suspending the Rules and passing H.R. 4143, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, for personal reasons, I was unable to make votes. Had I been present, I would have voted:

YEA on Roll Call No. 187, YEA on Roll Call No. 188, NAY on Roll Call No. 189, YEA on Roll Call No. 190, NAY on Roll Call No. 191, YEA on Roll Call No. 192, NAY on Roll Call No. 193, YEA on Roll Call No. 194, and YEA on Roll Call No. 195.

personal Explanation

Mr. Speaker, during Roll Call Vote No. 188 on the motion to table H. Res. 1209, I mistakenly recorded my vote as YEA when I should have voted NAY.

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to be present to cast my vote on Roll Call No. 195 today. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA.