Democrats never miss a trick and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has managed to give them a new opportunity to exploit Republican infighting for their own political ends with her motion to vacate the Speakership of Mike Johnson (R-La.).
Greene's motion stemmed from Johnson's decision to bring a government funding package to a floor vote, a move widely regarded as crucial to averting a shutdown. Even staunch Democratic opponents of Johnson acknowledged the necessity of supporting him under the circumstances, albeit conditionally.
While former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was unable to depend on Democrats to help save his job, a number of Democrats have come out in defense of Johnson and announced they would vote against removing him from the Speakership.
Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) is one such Democrat who voiced his support for Johnson, emphasizing the necessity of maintaining stability within the House leadership. "It's absurd he's being kicked out for doing the right thing, keeping the government open," Suozzi told CNN. “It has two-thirds support of the Congress, and the idea that he would be kicked out by these jokers is absurd.”
Similarly, Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) signaled his intention to stand against Greene's maneuver, despite his disagreements with Johnson. "I do not support Speaker Johnson, but I will never stand by and let MTG take over the people's House," he said in a post on X/Twitter.
Related: Marjorie Taylor Greene Files Motion to Vacate Speaker Mike Johnson
Confused? I couldn’t blame you. Suspicious? You should be. Make no mistake about it: this move has nothing to do with “the right thing” and more about Democrats seeing an opportunity to get what they want, and put Johnson in their debt. How?
What? You didn’t think there wouldn’t be a catch, did you?
"I'd want to see his good-faith action before that happened," Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) said. And that good-faith action, of course, is promising even more foreign aid for Ukraine.
Endless funding for Ukraine has been a key priority for Democrats. The situation has gotten even more dire for them as Donald Trump, who is currently leading in the polls, is promising to no longer give Ukraine a blank check.
This shouldn't surprise anyone. Heck, it appears that Democrats were counting on such a scenario to play out. A month ago, Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said the quiet part out loud, predicting that in the event Johnson's speakership was put on the line, Democrats could exploit the situation to ensure additional aid for Ukraine. "If we get a vote on the appropriations bills and we get a vote on the supplemental, there'll be enough Democrats that Johnson will not be removed as speaker," Smith predicted.
So, congratulations to Marjorie Taylor Greene for playing right into the Democrats' hands. This is why Republicans, especially in the face of their dwindling majority, cannot afford to be divided and fighting amongst themselves right now.
