Key House Republican acknowledges discussions about finding 'more effective Speaker' than Johnson

Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, a key conservative voice in the House, acknowledged Thursday that there have been discussions among his fellow Republicans about finding a "more effective Speaker" than the incumbent, Mike Johnson.

"I think he's likely to take it through the November election," Davidson said on the Just the News, No Noise TV show when asked if there would be a motion to vacate the Louisiana Republican's hold on the Speaker's chair.

"But all these are data points to say, 'should we stay with him as the speaker?' There's a lot of conversation about that as we look to hopefully defend our majority.......hopefully growing it. Can we set somebody up to be a more effective speaker?"

Many GOP House Freedom Caucus members have expressed frustrations with Johnson as different appropriations bills have been passed to fund government agencies under his leadership without achieving greater security at the southern border or cutting spending.

The GOP-controlled House has 218 members, compared to 213 for Democrats, which narrows the conference's majority and makes it more difficult for Johnson to pass legislation without the help of Democrats.

"I think part of it is we don't have a unified plan," Davidson said. "If you look at the party as a whole, the party hasn't had a new platform since 2016. The GOP was reluctant to embrace Donald Trump, and they never really fully implemented his platform. It wasn't updated in 2020. To this day, you've really free range Republicans making some similar promises, but we haven't united behind something."

He acknowledged that Johnson is in a difficult position, but there is still a lot of disappointment amongst Republicans.

"He had to become Speaker mid-Congress," Davidson said. "So he wasn't set up for success. But nevertheless, there's a lot of disappointment."

Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was the first House speaker in U.S. history to ever be removed from the leadership position when eight Republicans sided with Democrats to oust him last year.