Thursday’s House vote approving a short-term funding bill and avoiding a partial government shutdown left some Republican lawmakers frustrated with Speaker Mike Johnson, leading to the possibility of retribution from his conference.

The House passed the bill with a 314-108 vote. But only about half of Republicans voted for it — 107 supported the measure, 106 opposed it. Democrats voted 207-2 in favor of the legislation.

The bill, which President Joe Biden signed on Friday, extends funding at current levels for some agencies through March 1 and others through March 8. 

It marks the third stopgap funding bill Congress has passed since September, continuing spending at levels approved in 2022 when Democrats still controlled the House.

Members of the far-right House Freedom Caucus met with Johnson ahead of Thursday’s vote to urge him to attach a bill packed with hard-line immigration policies to the funding bill. 

Johnson not only put the stopgap measure up for a vote without the immigration amendment, he used a procedural move to circumvent the Rules Committee and fast-track the measure. The maneuver paved the way for a full House vote but required a two-thirds majority to pass.

In response, Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., Freedom Caucus chair, said Johnson can expect less cooperation from his faction moving forward.

“If you don’t need our votes for the material bills that matter for the country — such as funding the government and our major spending packages — and you continue to pass those under suspension of the rules with predominantly Democratic votes, then don’t presume you’re going to have our votes for the messaging bills that don’t matter, that make us feel better, but are dead on arrival in the Senate,” Good told reporters Thursday.

Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, posted on X, formerly Twitter, that Johnson surrendered to other congressional leaders on the bill, adding, “Thankfully, opposition is growing.”

Johnson has defended the short-term bill, saying earlier this week it is “required to complete what House Republicans are working hard to achieve: an end to governance by omnibus, meaningful policy wins, and better stewardship of American tax dollars.” 

On Tuesday, the speaker added: “We just needed a little more time on the calendar to do it and now that’s where we are. We’re not going to get everything we want.”

In September, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., single-handedly called for a vote to remove Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as speaker, which passed with support from eight Republicans and 208 Democrats. Some GOP lawmakers have threatened they might seek to oust Johnson as well if he does not fight for their priorities. 

“I want it to stay in place,” Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., told reporters Wednesday about the “motion to-vacate” rules. “And if things continue to go the way that they’re going, do I think that’s a possible outcome? Absolutely.”

Gaetz told CNN on Thursday night that, while he voted against Thursday’s bill, he doesn’t believe Johnson is at risk of being ousted as speaker. 

Gaetz said that he views the situations with McCarthy and Johnson far differently.

“With McCarthy, it wasn’t just that he was doing deals with Democrats, it was the duplicitous nature,” Gaetz said. “It was continuing to tell us one thing to do another and then to have these off-script negotiated agreements that were seemingly binding the House in the absence of any vote.”

But Johnson’s endurance as speaker could soon be tested again. President Joe Biden is asking Congress to pass a $110 billion supplemental spending package that includes war aid for Ukraine and Israel as well as funding to improve security at the U.S.-Mexico border, among other initiatives.

Some GOP lawmakers have insisted that, in exchange for Ukraine aid, some of their border policies be implemented. However, there also has been growing opposition from some in the party to providing any additional assistance to Ukraine, with some Republicans demanding that issue and border funding be voted on separately.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., has threatened to seek Johnson’s ouster if Ukraine aid is included. 

“We don’t have to trade $60 billion for Ukraine for our own country’s border security,” Greene told reporters last week. “That is a failing, losing strategy, and I will never support it. I’ll fight it as much as possible, even if I have to go so far to vacate the chair. And there’s others that agree with me.”

But there is no guarantee Democrats would help angry Republicans remove Johnson, as they did with McCarthy.

Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa., told Axios that Johnson “hasn’t been speaker long enough for us to have the same sort of misgivings” as they had with McCarthy. 

However, Rep. Wiley Nickel, D-N.C., said Republicans seeking to save Johnson would “have to offer us something,” but added that he believes that is unlikely.

Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., meanwhile, has vowed not to go along with any effort led by Greene to oust the speaker.

After McCarthy was removed, the House was paralyzed for three weeks before a new speaker was elected.