Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) filed a motion today that could lead to a vote to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson, less than a half year into his tenure.
Greene’s action came just as the House passed a $1.2 trillion package to fund the government through September and forestall a shutdown. The bill only would have passed with Democratic votes, with a majority of Republicans against it.
“OK, deep breath America, here we go again,” CNN anchor Dana Bash told viewers after Manu Raju and other reporters interviewed Greene on the steps of the Capitol afterward.
No vote on Greene’s motion to vacate is scheduled, as she did not seek a “privileged” resolution that would have triggered a two-legislative day timeframe for a floor vote. That is what happened in October, when Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) led a successful effort to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker. What followed was a protracted process by Republicans to come up with a new speaker, with three potential candidates faltering before the party settled on Johnson.
“We need a speaker of the House that knows how to negotiate, knows how to walk in the room, knows how to hold the line, and knows how to defend America first and the values and the policies that President Trump will bring,” Greene told reporters.
Greene did not say when or if she would try to force a vote. “I want to have conversations and i want to hear from others,” she said, adding that she has talked to “many” GOP members who “are breathing a sigh of relief.”
“We need a new speaker,” she said. “This is not personal against Mike Johnson. He’s a very good man, and I have respect for him as a person. But he is not doing the job. The proof is in the vote count today.”