‘It’s Theater’: Conservatives Are Furious With Mike Johnson’s Attempt to Appease Them on the Border

Johnson’s compromise of a separate border bill is not only failing to appeal to conservatives but is sparking a threat to his speakership.

Bob Good
Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good called the vote plan “a joke.”
J. Scott Applewhite/AP

The House Freedom Caucus isn’t buying Speaker Mike Johnson’s efforts to appease them as he pushes foreign aid — and he may be about to enrage them even more.

In an effort to bring conservatives on board with his national security plan, Johnson is pushing for a border bill vote on Saturday along with his four-bill package that includes aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

But members of the Freedom Caucus want the border bill to be directly attached to Ukraine aid. Without their votes, Johnson would have to court Democrats to move forward with his long-awaited aid bills.