A surprising turn of events, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has aligned himself with former Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi rather than fellow Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) on a crucial matter, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Johnson is standing up for the House’s authority to impose fines on those who flouted mask mandates during the peak of the COVID pandemic, a stance conflicting with Greene’s efforts to challenge the fines in court.
The report by Tia Mitchell reveals the predicament faced by GOP leaders, including Speaker Johnson, who find themselves defending fines they dislike, initiated by Pelosi to enforce mask compliance during House sessions.
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Legal representatives for Johnson are addressing the fines’ constitutionality in response to Greene and her co-defendants, Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Ralph Norman (R-SC), who recently sought Supreme Court intervention after lower courts upheld the fines.
Johnson’s appointment as speaker followed a period of turmoil triggered by the removal of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from the role by a faction of far-right Republicans. McCarthy, slated to resign from Congress at the year’s end, won’t complete his full term.
The narrative unfolds against the backdrop of Greene’s evolution in Congress, initially marginalized for endorsing extreme views and subsequently gaining influence by aligning with McCarthy, a move that led to her expulsion from the House Freedom Caucus.
