Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) on Thursday expressed his frustration with those who haven’t backed House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in staying in his role yet.
In an interview on NewsNation’s “The Hill” with anchor Blake Burman, Bacon said he and his colleagues backing Johnson “find it very irritating” when it comes to those holding out.
“It irritates us that these people undermine our leadership and the vast majority of us who wanna get things done, but you gotta optimize, you gotta find consensus,” Bacon said.
Some hard-line House conservatives have been demanding substantial nebulous commitments from the Speaker to earn their backing in Friday’s vote for House speaker.
Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), a former head of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, said last Friday on Fox Business that he is “going to keep my options open” regarding his Speaker choice.
“Right now, I think that Mike has done an admirable job under tough conditions, but I’m going to keep my options open. I want to have a conversation with Mike,” Perry said.
During his NewsNation appearance Thursday, Bacon said Johnson has “done a great job” in his role.
“He’s a good man,” Bacon said. “He’s honest, man of faith. I think he’s done the very best he can with a very small majority.”
Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.), a key holdout in House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) tight race to continue in his position, said Thursday that she will decide Friday whether to vote for him.
“I will make [the] decision tomorrow,” Spartz told a group of reporters in the Capitol, adding that she and Johnson met and that it went well.
NewsNation is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which also owns The Hill.
