House Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good, right, distanced himself from calls to oust Speaker Mike Johnson, left. (Getty Images )
"I think there’s a lot of dissatisfaction within the Republican Party. I think the speaker guarantees himself that there will be a contest for the speaker, I hope, in November. I think that’s the wise course when you’re sitting at a 216 to 213 margin," Good said.
Good has been among the most vocal critics of Johnson’s leadership, particularly when the speaker has had to reach across the aisle to pass critical legislation. But his wariness of embracing calls for Johnson’s ouster shows the overall wariness of members of Johnson’s right flank to undergo the same three weeks of chaos they did last year.
When asked to clarify whether he would not support if his fellow Republicans triggered a vote for Johnson’s ouster – known as a motion to vacate – Good said, "I only know of members who have said they support a motion to vacate. I certainly have not said that."
"I think the appropriate time to have that contest would be in November," he said.
Good was one of the eight Republicans who ousted ex-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Image)
"I'll just point out that the…two members who signed on to that are members who were very critical of holding the previous speaker accountable," Good said. "And so I think it's a conversation for them on what's different today, versus the actions that they were critical of a year ago."
He continued, "I would point out that the margin is so much more narrow that when they were saying a year ago that, ‘Oh, they might elected Democrat speaker,’ that was just dishonesty…It’s a much more precarious position to pursue that now."
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Meanwhile, Johnson put out a statement Thursday afternoon saying he had no intention of supporting efforts to change the motion to vacate rule.
"Since the beginning of the 118th Congress, the House rule allowing a Motion to Vacate from a single member has harmed this office and our House majority," he said. "Recently, many members have encouraged me to endorse a new rule to raise this threshold. While I understand the importance of that idea, any rule change requires a majority of the full House, which we do not have.
"We will continue to govern under the existing rules."
Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.
Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com
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