The speaker of the House of Representatives is facing criticism for negotiating a spending deal to fund the government.
Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson is facing a backlash from Make America Great Again (MAGA) figures after negotiating a spending deal to fund the government.
Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, along with Democrats Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries announced a 2024 budget deal of nearly $1.66 trillion on Sunday.
The speaker said the agreement slashed $16 billion in spending, according to his letter to colleagues, which, he said, “represents the most favorable budget agreement Republicans have achieved in over a decade.”
But since then, Johnson, who replaced Kevin McCarthy as speaker in October 2023, has faced criticism, with some arguing it brings the spending in line with the deal struck last year between Democratic President Joe Biden and McCarthy that led to the former speaker’s removal. The deal is around $16 billion less in cuts in the deal reached between McCarthy and Biden.
Writing on X, formerly Twitter, one user said Johnson was “bending a knee to Schumer.”
Political commentator Gunther Eagleman suggested a motion be filed to vacate the chair because of the spending deal.
“F*** it, if @SpeakerJohnson pushes the $1.6T spending bill through Congress, I say someone should file a motion to vacate the chair… Again,” Eagleman wrote.
The anonymous social media MAGA account @catturd2, which has more than 2 million followers, criticized funding for Ukraine included in the deal.
