Punchbowl News: “Speaker Mike Johnson hosted an animated and at times heated meeting in the Capitol Wednesday afternoon during which hardline conservatives warred with appropriators and GOP leadership over the pending FY2024 funding bills — including whether House Republicans should force a government shutdown in order to try to win policy fights…”

“This was a long meeting with spats of yelling. But the basic gist is this — appropriators effectively told the hardline conservatives that they have no chance of exacting the kinds of ‘poison pill’ riders that the House approved in GOP-only spending bills. The cardinals argued that a government shutdown was idiotic and would only hurt House Republicans…”

“The conservatives angrily accused Johnson and GOP appropriators of ‘surrendering’ and giving up too easily on Republican priorities.”

Politico: “This House is the first one in modern history to have six rule votes — three under former Speaker Kevin McCarthy and three under Speaker Mike Johnson — tanked in one Congress. Before last year, a rule vote hadn’t failed in two decades.”

Said House Rules Committee Chair Tom Cole (R-OK): “It’s unfortunate. Look, rules not passing weakens the majority. The rule is designed to maximize the chance of passing something on the floor that the majority wants to do, not to be used as a weapon by one group against another group.”

“And the latest failure had a bright red warning sign for Johnson. There were a few non-conservatives who voted against the rule because they didn’t support the underlying legislation. That means the rebellious behavior of the existing rabble-rousers is spreading, at least in part because Johnson and McCarthy rewarded the behavior they wanted to exterminate.”

“Senior Republicans are turning on Speaker Mike Johnson,” Punchbowl News reports.

“The criticism of Johnson from inside the leadership circle is withering. Several sources reached out to us this morning to say that patience is wearing very thin with the speaker.”