Lawler says Johnson should be House Speaker: He 'inherited a disaster'

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) said Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) should be re-elected as House Speaker, noting the Louisiana Republican "inherited a disaster."

During an appearance on ABC's "This Week," host Jonathan Karl asked Lawler whether Johnson would and should be reelected as Speaker.

"Yes, and yes," he replied. "The fact is that Mike Johnson inherited a disaster when Matt Gaetz and several of my colleagues teamed up with 208 Democrats to remove Kevin McCarthy, which will go down as the single stupidest thing I've ever seen in politics."

Lawler was referencing the chaotic removal of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in October 2023. The mutiny was led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and came days after the former California Republican averted a government shutdown by putting a stopgap measure on the floor that garnered Democratic support — a move that infuriated hardline Republicans.

Lawler, who represents a district won by President Biden in 2020 and Vice President Harris, stated that removing Johnson would "equally be as stupid."

"The fact is that these folks are playing with fire," he said. "And if they think they're somehow going to get a more conservative speaker, they're kidding themselves."

"Mike Johnson is arguably the most conservative speaker that's ever been elected to the office," he added.

Lawler noted that nothing can get done without a House Speaker.

"We can't get anything done unless we have a speaker, including certifying President Trump's election on January 6th. So, to waste time over a nonsensical intramural food fight is a joke," he said.

Despite his support, Lawler has pushed back on Johnson's handling of the continuing resolution (CR). At one point, he stood up during the GOP conference meeting and told Johnson the government funding process has not been member-driven, according to a source in the room.

House conservatives were infuriated earlier this month by the 1,547-page bill Johnson and other congressional leaders unveiled a few days before a government funding deadline.

The measure was later slimmed to 116 pages and passed by large margins in both chambers.