Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has initiated the process to vote on the removal of House Speaker Mike Johnson. The House now has a two-day window to vote on her motion to vacate, marking the second time in seven months there’s been an attempt to oust the speaker from within the Republican Party.
According to a report from Politico, "House leaders are expected to immediately move forward on a vote to block her effort, according to a person familiar with leadership's plans."
Greene and her ally in the ouster effort, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), opted to move on their resolution after Johnson didn't move quickly on a slew of their demands, some of which they wanted attached to a Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill. Greene had pushed for Johnson to agree to four key demands, including not passing further Ukraine aid and defunding the special counsel probes into Donald Trump in upcoming appropriations bills.
The speaker had largely shrugged off the two hardliners and the House is expected to pass a one-week FAA extension in the afternoon vote. Johnson hasn't indicated that any of their asks would be included in a broader reauthorization bill Congress will have to consider later this month.
Many members booed and heckled Greene as she read her resolution on the House floor. She fired back that her colleagues were part of the “uni-party," a term conservatives use to deride Republicans who work with Democrats.
Greene’s attempt to oust Johnson was quickly defeated in the House, with 11 Republicans voting to move forward with it, and several Democrats voting against it.
It’s still unclear if Greene or other Johnson critics will force another ouster vote before the end of the year. But Wednesday’s vote marks a victory for Johnson, letting him avoid the same fate as his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, who was ejected from the speakership in October.
Greene’s threat has hovered over the House for more than six weeks, when the Georgia Republican first introduced her resolution but didn’t immediately trigger a vote. Instead, she held it over Johnson's head as he navigated a controversial spy program and tens of billions of dollars in new Ukraine aid through Congress. He was able to muscle both through with Democratic help, despite fierce opposition from his right flank.
This wasn’t particularly surprising, as House Democrats had previously indicated willingness to help block efforts to oust Johnson.
“We will vote to table Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Motion to Vacate the Chair. If she invokes the motion, it will not succeed,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), Minority Whip Katherine Clark (Mass.), and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (Calif.) said in a statement last month.
“If the Democrats want to elect him Speaker (and some Republicans want to support the Democrats’ chosen Speaker), I’ll give them the chance to do it,” Greene said at the time. “I’m a big believer in recorded votes because putting Congress on record allows every American to see the truth and provides transparency to our votes.”
Related: Just Who Will Speaker Johnson Be Working for When Democrats Stymie GOP Efforts to Depose Him?
As PJ Media’s Rick Moran noted last month, this would be an unprecedented move that would raise questions about whose interests Speaker Johnson would be beholden to. For now, he can thank the Democrats for saving him. What will that mean going forward?
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