Senior Writer
Willis Sparks
Senior Writer
Willis Sparks is a senior editor for GZERO Daily. He is also a Director in the Global Macro practice at Eurasia Group, where he has worked since 2005. He has made speeches on international politics on every continent except Antarctica. Willis holds degrees from Brown University, the Juilliard School, Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, and the Institut d'Etudes Politiques in Paris. He also holds an honorary degree from the Moscow Art Theatre School. A native of Macon, Georgia, Willis has worked as a stuntman at New York's Metropolitan Opera. As a child, he declined an opportunity to spend an afternoon riding the Great American Scream Machine, a rollercoaster, with Ronald McDonald, for money. He has never regretted that decision.
May 09, 2024
Earlier this week, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) faced down a would-be Republican rebellion against his leadership driven by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) – and he did it emphatically. On Wednesday, the House voted down her bid to unseat Johnson, and just 11 of the 217 Republican members sided with Greene.
But that doesn’t mean Johnson can relax. A strong majority of Democrats provided the votes that spared him, and a number of them, including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), said this week that Johnson can’t count on them to save him from future challenges.
In addition, Donald Trump, who didn’t favor Johnson’s decision to give US aid for Ukraine a House vote, isn’t offering Johnson any guarantees either. Following Greene’s failed insurrection, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee posted on Truth Social that “this is not the time” for conservative Republicans to defenestrate Johnson. “We’re not in a position” to vote him out, but “at some point, we may very well be.”
The bottom line: Both Democrats and Trump will continue to press Johnson for concessions at every turn. His position remains safe for now, but the speaker of the House is still waiting to exhale.
