Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia said on Wednesday that she would demand a vote next week on a motion to remove Speaker Mike Johnson, moving forward in the face of all but certain defeat with a second attempt during this Congress to depose a Republican speaker.
In a morning news conference at the Capitol, Ms. Greene excoriated Mr. Johnson for working with Democrats to push through major legislation and said it was time for lawmakers to go on the record about where they stood on his speakership.
“I think every member of Congress needs to take that vote and let the chips fall where they may,” Ms. Greene said.
Instead, many of them heard just the opposite and returned to Washington this week voicing skepticism about removing the speaker.
On Wednesday, she said she had given Mr. Johnson multiple chances to avoid a motion to vacate, and he had squandered them.
And he didn’t do it.” In a hastily issued statement, Mr. Johnson condemned the move.
“I don’t spend a lot of time concerning myself with it, and I think it’s a distraction,” Mr. Johnson said in an interview on Sunday.
“Mike Johnson is not capable of that job; he has proven it over and over again,” she said.
In the face of an almost certain defeat, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia announced on Wednesday that she would push for a vote on a motion to remove Speaker Mike Johnson the following week. This is her second attempt to remove a Republican speaker during this Congress.
During an early-morning press conference held at the Capitol, Ms. Greene chastised Mr. Johnson for collaborating with Democrats to ram through significant legislation, and she insisted that legislators should publicly state their positions regarding his speakership.
According to Ms. Greene, “I believe that every member of Congress needs to take that vote and let the chips fall where they may.”. “I will therefore be calling this motion to vacate next week. “.
Less than a week has passed since Mr. Johnson forced through a $95 billion aid package that had been delayed for Israel, Ukraine, and other U.S. S. allies despite Ms. Greene’s and other right-wing Republicans’ adamant opposition to providing more aid to Kiev.
And it happened just a day after House Democratic leaders declared they would vote to thwart the attempt to remove Mr. Johnson, giving Republicans ample support to scuttle Ms. Greene’s motion before it could be discussed.
However, under House rules, a single lawmaker can raise the challenge and force a vote on it within two legislative days. This is the same method that conservative Republicans employed to remove California’s Kevin McCarthy as the first speaker of the house ever last autumn.
Democrats in that instance sided with the rebel Republicans to vote against Mr. McCarthy, as is customary for a minority party that, by definition, aspires to have its own leader in the speakership. On the other hand, the minority leader and Democrat from New York, Representative Hakeem Jeffries, has stated that his party will support a Republican attempt to table or defeat Ms. Greene’s motion.
Ms. In the month and a half since she submitted her move to resign as speaker, Greene’s attempt has lacked impetus. She claimed that her move was a warning to Mr. Johnson following his agreement with Democrats on a $1 trillion government spending bill that overrode the concerns of conservative Republicans. To date, only two other Republicans—Representatives Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Paul Gosar of Arizona—have publicly supported the initiative; however, on Wednesday, both Ms. Greene and Mr. Massie announced that they had received support in private from additional colleagues.
Following the vote on Ukraine aid, Ms. Greene postponed taking action, stating that she wished to “let my colleagues go home and hear from their constituents.” She also forecasted that additional Republicans would support her effort to remove Mr. Johnson following an outcry from disgruntled voters. Rather, a considerable number of them perceived the exact opposite and visited Washington again this week, expressing doubts about taking down the speaker.
She claimed on Wednesday that she had given Mr. Johnson several opportunities to avert a motion to vacate, but he had blown them.
“I was in charge; I took responsibility,” she declared. I was giving my conference and our majority some thought and caring. It served as a warning to abandon the Democrats and back our agenda, as well as the Republican conference. Nor did he do it. “.
Mr. Johnson criticized the action in a hurriedly released statement.
The speaker declared, “This motion is wrong for the country, for the Republican conference, and for the institution.”.
He has said the effort was misguided and would not drive his decisions as speaker.
In an interview on Sunday, Mr. Johnson stated, “I think it’s a distraction and I don’t spend a lot of time concerning myself with it.”. Here, we have a task at hand. The great majority of my coworkers, I believe, also realize this. Furthermore, I don’t believe that the speaker should be ejected due to disagreements over questions or policy. “.
Ms. Greene and her far-right allies hoped to achieve an ultraconservative agenda when Republicans gained a slim majority in the House in the 2022 midterm elections. However, Ms. Johnson had failed to carry out this goal, according to Ms. Greene’s scathing tirade on Wednesday, filled with profanity.
She argued that Mike Johnson “has proven time and time again that he is not capable of that job.”. “Hakeem Jeffries and the Democrats have now emerged, giving Mike Johnson a hearty hug and a long, sloppy kiss. “.
While some of Ms. Greene’s colleagues shared her frustration with the House’s failure to move forward with meaningful conservative legislation, they cautioned against inciting another period of chaos similar to the one that shut down the chamber for weeks following Mr. McCarthy’s removal.
The bottom line, as is widely documented, is that Representative Chip Roy, a Republican from Texas, doesn’t want to go down this road right now. He stated this to reporters on Tuesday. However, in the end, the legislation we have been advancing is not the reason our parents sent us to this place. Therefore, between now and November, we must ascertain what that means. “.
