Bannon says Speaker Johnson must go: ‘Next man up’

Former Trump adviser and podcaster Steve Bannon said Speaker Mike Johnson’s time is up and Republicans need to look for a replacement.

“Johnson is not savable,” Mr. Bannon said Wednesday on his “War Room” podcast. “It’s not worth it. It’s time to look for the next man up because this is gonna continue.”

He said the ousting of former Rep. Kevin McCarthy, who was removed from the speakership in October and then resigned in December, wasn’t personal.

“He was a bad guy, in a lot of respects, you couldn’t trust him,” he said of the California Republican. “But it was the debt deal [with President Biden]. I told him if he did the debt deal, ‘Dude you’re like a deer that’s been shot.’ War Room is eventually gonna get you.”

Some Republicans have said that Mr. Johnson should face a motion to vacate just like Mr. McCarthy for the same reason – spending deals made with Democrats.

Mr. Bannon said Mr. Johnson, Louisiana Republican, is “only marginally better” than Mr. McCarthy.

“He’s putting up some fights,” Mr. Bannon said. “If you didn’t keep the pressure on these guys 24/7, you think they’d be doing this stuff? No they would not.”