Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) defended his fellow Louisiana lawmaker on Wednesday, claiming that House Speaker Mike Johnson “pisses excellence.”

Kennedy’s comment, which references a quote from the movie Talladega Nights, comes amid growing criticism of the House speaker for his leadership, with some Republicans supporting a movement to oust him from his position to elect a new speaker. The Louisiana senator contended that Johnson is doing the best job that he can do amid the Republican Party’s razor-thin majority in the House.

“I’ve known Mike a long time,” Kennedy said on Fox News’s Fox & Friends. “The man pisses excellence, he’s doing the best he can under tough circumstances.”

The comment from Kennedy caught the host off guard, who noted that it was a “very interesting term of phrase.”

Prior to this comment, Kennedy discussed the possibility of the Senate hosting an impeachment trial for Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, as the House of Representatives walked articles of impeachment to the Senate on Tuesday afternoon. The Louisiana senator cast doubt that such a trial would be conducted by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), as it would show how the Biden administration has “screwed up” its handling of the southern border ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Republicans criticizing Johnson relates to his failure to provide security to the southern border under his leadership, with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) filing a motion to vacate the House speaker last month. On Tuesday, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) announced that he is cosponsoring Greene’s motion to vacate Johnson.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) stated Sunday that Johnson “seemed” to be a conservative when he became House speaker, but argued that he has failed to make any real progress for House Republicans since taking on the role of speaker. He also encouraged Johnson to use his power as speaker to “do something to make us think you are different than the Democrats.”