Velázquez on the viral ‘bye bye!’

She wants to see them out that door. Democratic Rep. Nydia Velázquez yelled out “bye-bye” when moderate Republican Rep. Mike Lawler cast his vote for Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson for speaker of the House of Representatives on Wednesday. 

And while it’s not too hard to grasp the meaning of her valediction, the longtime representative confirmed that she expects moderate Republicans like Lawler and Rep. Marc Molinaro to suffer electoral consequences for backing the much farther right Johnson. “Of course I yelled at him, and said, ‘Bye-bye,’” Velázquez told City & State on Thursday afternoon. “Because believe me, we’re going to wrap around their neck the ascension and the election of Mike Johnson. Someone who is as extreme as they come.”

Velázquez said that she’s never spoken with Johnson, who rose from relative obscurity after Republicans’ weeks-long, repeated failures to elect a new speaker after a faction of the party ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy. But Democrats like Velázquez are now keenly aware of Johnson’s record, which includes staunch opposition to abortion access and a key role in efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.