A longtime former Republican member of the House of Representatives is predicting that his party will suffer significant losses in the November election due to its ongoing inability to govern.
In a Thursday interview with MSNBC host Chris Jansing, former Ohio Governor John Kasich — who served in the House for 18 years between 1983 and 2001 and once chaired the House Budget Committee — was bearish on the GOP's chances of maintaining control of the lower chamber of Congress. Kasich attributed his prediction that his party would lose the majority to the far-right faction threatening to remove House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) over a proposed vote to send more munitions to Ukraine.
"If it keeps going this way, Democrats are going to win the House. They will win the House, and it won't be by a narrow margin, it'll be by larger than what people expect," Kasich said. "Long-term survival? I think that the Republicans are in deep trouble. Very deep trouble."
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Kasich made his comments amid an escalation of Republican infighting on Capitol Hill. Earlier Thursday, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) iterated her warning that she would introduce a motion to vacate Johnson should he pass Ukraine funding this weekend, as planned. And this week, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) indicated he would also support the motion, which could pass if those two Republicans and all Democrats vote in favor of the motion.
In an interview outside the U.S. Capitol building, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) — who led the successful effort to remove former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) from his position last year — was cagey about whether he would vote in favor of Greene's motion. The foreign aid package would depend on the passage of a rule to allow debate on the floor over the bill, and the text of the rule includes language that would make it harder for a single member to bring a motion to vacate. That rubbed Gaetz the wrong way, and he maintains that the "accountability" for House speakers should remain the same.
Johnson has the smallest House majority of any House speaker since the start of the 21st century. And since he won the gavel in October of 2023, he has seen his already tiny majority erode even further, with multiple Republican members of the House announcing their retirements — including some who left the House in the middle of their terms.
Lately, Johnson has depended on House Democrats to get must-pass legislation across the finish line, like the latest $2.1 trillion appropriations bill to avoid a federal government shutdown. However, Democrats have said they would vote against Greene's motion to vacate if Johnson succeeds in passing a Ukraine funding bill.
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Kasich ended his MSNBC interview with advice for Johnson, urging him to not be worried about what a minority of his party would do if he indeed decides to holds a vote on foreign aid.
"You gonna have a vote on Ukraine? Go with it, man! If you win, great. If you don't win, great," he said, "I mean, life's short. Do the right thing."
Watch video of Kasich's comments below, or by clicking this link.
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