Greene vows to move ahead on Johnson ouster vote after Democrats promise to save him

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) is vowing to move ahead with a vote to oust Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), even after Democratic leaders said they would shield the Louisiana Republican from a conservative coup.

In a post on the social platform X shortly after the top three Democrats announced they would vote to table a motion to vacate the Speakership if Greene brought it to the floor — effectively saving Johnson’s job — Greene said she would bring it to the floor regardless. 

The Georgia Republican filed her motion to vacate last month but has not yet said when she plans to trigger a vote on it.

“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. “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.”

“Americans deserve to see the Uniparty on full display. I’m about to give them their coming out party!” she added.

The announcement from the trio of top House Democrats — Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (Mass.) and caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (Calif.) — means Greene’s motion to vacate is almost certain to fail when she brings it to the floor, dealing a major blow to the Georgia Republican.

Only two other GOP lawmakers — Reps. Thomas Massie (Ky.) and Paul Gosar (Ariz.) — have backed Greene’s ouster threat, while a number of other hard-line conservatives have come out against the effort, warning that now is not the time to plunge the House into chaos despite their strong disappointment with Johnson.

“It’s not the time,” Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) said Monday. “Although I’m profoundly frustrated, disappointed and disgruntled, it’s not the time.”

Adding to the opposition is former President Trump, who, despite being close to Greene, has offered support to Johnson on a number of occasions in recent weeks.

“I stand with the Speaker, we’ve had a very good relationship,” Trump said during a press conference alongside Johnson at Mar-a-Lago earlier this month.

Greene’s vow to bring her motion to the floor for a vote comes after the congresswoman declined to lay out a timeline for her ouster effort, leading some to believe that she would not follow through with her threat.

Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.), who often criticizes GOP leadership, told reporters Monday night “I don’t think it’s gonna come up” when asked about the motion to vacate.

Greene’s team, however, has strongly rejected the notion that she was backing down from her effort. Nick Dyer, the congresswoman’s spokesperson, told Politico on Sunday night that “anyone who is saying she is backing down is high, drunk, or simply out of their mind,” and Greene wrote on X earlier in the day that Johnson’s “days as Speaker are numbered.”

Greene filed her motion to vacate against Johnson late last month, as the House was voting on a sprawling spending package to avert a government shutdown, which received more support from Democrats than Republicans.

Since then, her frustration with Johnson has grown, as the Speaker oversaw the passage of billions of dollars in Ukraine aid and a bill that reauthorized the U.S.’s warrantless surveillance powers — both of which crossed the finish line with help from Democrats.

“Everyday, I fight the Democrat agenda destroying America and I fight for an America First Republican agenda. Mike Johnson is officially the Democrat Speaker of the House. Here is their official endorsement of his Speakership,” Greene wrote Tuesday on X.

The congresswoman speculated in her social media post that Johnson cut a deal with Democrats to win their support amid the ouster threat, which the Speaker rejected Tuesday.

“There’s no deals at all,” he told reporters at a press conference.

“I’ve not requested assistance from anyone, I’ve not focused on that at all,” he said at another point. “I’ve focused on getting the job done and getting the legislation passed.”

Asked about Democratic leadership pledging their support for the Speaker, Johnson said, “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,” he continued.

“And so we saw what happened with the motion to vacate last time — Congress was closed for three weeks, no one can afford for that to happen,” he added. “So we need people who are serious about the job here to continue to do that job and get it done. So I have to do what I believe is right every day and let the chips fall where they may.”

Updated at 12:01 p.m.