Washington — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Wednesday said she would next week follow through on her threat to force a vote to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson, adding to the dysfunction that has become increasingly routine for Republicans in the lower chamber.
"I think every member of Congress needs to take that vote and let the chips fall where they may," Greene said at a news conference Wednesday. "And so next week, I am going to be calling this motion to vacate."
Greene, a Georgia Republican, has dangled the threat of dethroning Johnson since late March after he relied on Democrats to push through a $1.2 trillion spending bill to avert a partial government shutdown.
She has since publicly and repeatedly denounced the Louisiana Republican's leadership, arguing that he has failed to live up to his promises by negotiating with Democrats and breaking procedural rules to pass major legislation — tactics made necessary by Republicans' razor-thin majority and GOP infighting. Johnson's decision to push ahead with more funding for Ukraine to assist the U.S. ally in its war against Russia, which Greene vehemently opposed, was the final straw.
"I cast my vote in favor of Mike Johnson because his track record of voting before he assumed the position of speaker was aligned with conservative values," expressed Greene. "However, since taking on the role of speaker, he has transformed into a figure that is unrecognizable to all of us."
In the middle of April, her campaign to remove Johnson garnered the backing of two additional conservatives — Representatives Thomas Massie from Kentucky and Paul Gosar from Arizona. With a week-long break following the House's approval of a significant foreign aid package that included billions for Ukraine, they opted to initiate the countdown on a vote once lawmakers reconvened in Washington. They hoped that Republican constituents would voice their discontent and rally behind their cause, or that Johnson would step down.
With the Republican majority becoming increasingly slim — a fact that former President Donald Trump recently acknowledged in his lukewarm defense of Johnson, stating, "It's not as if he has free rein." The three GOP members voting against Johnson imply that he will require Democratic support to retain his position as speaker if all members are present and voting.
Citing the passage of the foreign aid package, House Democratic leadership announced Tuesday that they would thwart the effort to remove Johnson. Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, the Democratic caucus chair, said Tuesday that their decision to vote to kill the measure if it comes up for a vote was not about saving Johnson, but they "want to turn the page" and not "let Marjorie Taylor dictate the schedule and the calendar of what's ahead."
"They will doom him if they try that," Massie said in April of the potential that Democrats would offer Johnson a lifeline. "How's that sustainable? … If a Republican speaker is the speaker only by virtue of Democrats voting for him, that's not a stable condition."
Johnson said in a statement after Greene's announcement that the motion "is wrong for the Republican Conference, wrong for the institution, and wrong for the country." The speaker previously said he had not asked Democrats to help him. And he has appeared undeterred by the biggest threat to the job he's only held for six months and has refused to step down.
"I have to do my job. We have to do what we believe to be the right thing. What the country needs right now is a functioning Congress. They need a Congress that works well, works together and does not hamper its own ability to solve these problems," Johnson said Tuesday. "We saw what happened with the motion to vacate the last time. Congress was closed for three weeks. No one can afford for that to happen."
On Wednesday, Greene criticized that move, suggesting that Johnson is working for Democrats and saying that they are embracing Johnson "with a warm hug and a big wet sloppy kiss."
Massie has predicted Johnson will lose more votes than former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California, who was booted from the top spot in October after a similar revolt. The historic vote to remove McCarthy threw the House into weeks of paralysis as Republicans failed to unite behind a new speaker.
McCarthy said on "Face the Nation" in March that Johnson shouldn't be concerned with a move to oust him, saying it likely won't be successful.
"Do not be fearful of a motion to vacate," McCarthy said. "I do not think they could do it again."
So far, no other Republicans have publicly endorsed the push to remove Johnson.
Rep. Chip Roy, a Texas Republican, said Monday the maneuver to dethrone the speaker "should be deployed sparingly" and the party was better off focusing on the November elections.
Massie argued Johnson's leadership is "not inspiring anybody to give us the majority if he's going to be sharing the majority with Democrats."
Republicans, both those supportive of and frustrated by Johnson, also acknowledge he won't be easy to replace.
"The Search for a New Leader"
As discussions around the foreign aid package heated up in the House, Rep. Troy Nehls from Texas raised the question, "Who's going to want the job and who could do it?" Nehls expressed concerns about finding a suitable replacement, noting that they had already delved deep into their bench during a previous search.
When pressed about potential candidates to replace Johnson, Greene declined to provide specific names but expressed confidence in the capabilities of individuals within the conference. She emphasized that having the right leader in place was crucial for maintaining a House majority, issuing a warning that retaining Mike Johnson might jeopardize that goal.
