Speaker Mike Johnson is in the middle of a tense fight over the future of border security measures in the House GOP. (Getty Images)
"If the speaker wanted to keep his own promises on border security, he would have attached border security to the rule. Those opposed would have been forced to accept it, or oppose the rule," Davidson responded.
A rule vote is a procedural hurdle that sets terms for debate and a final vote on one or several pieces of legislation. It’s decided by a majority in the House Rules Committee, which is the last test for bills before they reach the House floor.
Conservative foreign aid skeptics were outraged at the decision by Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., last week to advance his four foreign aid bills under one rule vote and a fifth border security bill under a separate rule, arguing that it left Republicans with no leverage to force the Senate to take it up.
In protest, three of those skeptics joined all Democrats in killing the bill in the Rules Committee, which forced Johnson to bring the bill up for a vote by forgoing the procedural hurdle in exchange for raising the threshold for passage to two-thirds instead of a simple majority.
Predictably, the bill failed with no Democrats backing the measure.
DEMS SAVE JOHNSON'S $95B FOREIGN AID PLAN FROM GOP REBEL BLOCKADE
Rep. Warren Davidson shot back that House GOP leadership was undermining Republicans.
But even Johnson himself dismissed arguments that he was in a position to force border security measures through the Democrat-controlled Senate and White House, telling FOX Business’ Larry Kudlow days before the vote, "Some of my colleagues want the speaker of the House to have a magic wand. If we could close the border ourselves, we would have done it a long time ago."
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The infighting is not a new phenomenon in the House, but it illustrates the exceptional divides in Johnson’s GOP Conference.
House lawmakers are back in their home districts this week, but when they return, GOP leaders will be grappling with just a one-seat majority after the early departure of Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis.
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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