迈克·约翰逊议长致辞两场令人震惊的失败对于共和党来说，周二晚上在众议院展开，引发了对他的领导能力和共和党执政能力的批评。
“昨晚是一次挫折，但民主是混乱的，”约翰逊在国会山对记者说，试图减轻损失。“我们生活在一个政府分裂的时代。我们在这里只有极微弱的优势，每一票都很重要。”
众议院共和党人在背靠背的投票中未能弹劾国土安全部部长亚历杭德罗·马约卡斯，也未能通过一项在以色列与哈马斯冲突期间向以色列提供援助的独立法案。
“你会对担心国会无法履行基本职能的美国人说些什么?”美国广播公司新闻节目主持人杰伊·奥布莱恩问约翰逊。
约翰逊回答说:“这根本不是真的。我们是这里的统治者。有时候很乱。”
“宪法制定者预计，在这个系统中，来自美国不同地区和不同选区的不同哲学观点的人会对如何解决他们的问题有不同的想法，”他继续说道。“但他们也预计到，我们将能够进入房间，就公共政策进行掰手腕，并达成共识，为大多数人向前推进。”
2024年2月7日，众议院议长·迈克·约翰逊在美国国会大厦接受记者采访。
弗朗西斯·钟/政治/美联社
马约卡斯的投票到了最后一刻，约翰逊选择继续前进，尽管有迹象表明他的会议中有人计划投反对票。一名民主党人和三名共和党人的意外出现以216票对214票否决了该决议。
约翰逊周三表示，他将再次对弹劾条款进行投票，并预计该条款将获得通过。他没有详细说明投票可能在何时进行。
他说:“马约卡斯需要承担责任，拜登政府也需要承担责任，我们将通过弹劾条款。“我们下一轮再做。”
在谈到以色列援助法案时，约翰逊指责民主党反对该措施。该法案以250票对180票未获通过，尽管有14名共和党人反对，40多名民主党人支持。
美国总统乔·拜登(Joe Biden)表示反对该法案，理由是众议院共和党人反对一项两党补充方案，其中包括对以援助乌以及重大移民改革的援助。
拜登和约翰逊都指责对方在这个问题上玩弄政治。
“我认为他们这样做对自己不利，”约翰逊在谈到民主党反对独立的以色列法案时说。“在我们的盟友以色列急需帮助的时候，这是一件非常可耻的事情。”
Johnson speaks after 2 stinging defeats for Republicans: 'Democracy is messy'
Speaker Mike Johnson addressedtwo stunning defeatsfor the Republican Party that unfolded on the House floor Tuesday evening, prompting criticism of his leadership and the GOP's ability to govern.
"Last night was a setback, but democracy is messy," Johnson told reporters on Capitol Hill, seeking to soften the losses. "We live in a time of divided government. We have a razor-thin margin here, and every vote counts."
House Republicans, in back-to-back votes, failed to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and to push through a stand-alone bill to provide aid to Israel amid its conflict with Hamas.
"What would you say to Americans concerned that Congress isn't able to do basic functions?" Johnson was asked by ABC News' Jay O'Brien.
Johnson replied, "It's just simply not true. We're governing here. Sometimes it's messy."
"The framers anticipated that you would have a system where people with very different philosophical viewpoints, that come from different parts of the country and different constituencies would have different ideas on how to resolve their problems," he continued. "But what they also anticipated is that we'd be able to get in the room and arm wrestle over public policy and come to consensus to move the ball forward for the most people."
The Mayorkas vote came down to the wire, with Johnson choosing to forge ahead despite indications that some within his conference planned to vote against it. An unexpected appearance from one Democrat and three Republican defections tanked the resolution in a 216 to 214 vote.
Johnson said Wednesday that he will bring the impeachment articles up for a vote again and projected confidence it will pass. He didn't elaborate on when that vote may take place.
"Mayorkas needs to be held accountable and the Biden administration needs to be held accountable, and we will pass the articles of impeachment," he said. "We'll do it on next round."
Speaking on the Israel aid bill, Johnson laid blame on Democrats for opposing the measure. That bill failed 250-180, mostly along party lines though 14 Republicans opposed it and more than 40 Democrats supported it.
President Joe Biden has expressed opposition to the bill, citing House Republicans' opposition to a bipartisan supplemental package that includes aid to Israel aid Ukraine as well as significant immigration reforms.
Both Biden and Johnson are accusing the other of playing politics on the issue.
"I think they did it to their detriment," Johnson said of Democratic opposition to the stand-alone Israel bill. "And it's a very shameful thing at a time when our ally Israel needs the help desperately."
