White House on fresh motion to remove Speaker: ‘Grab your popcorn’

The White House on Friday took a swipe at the latest effort from House Republicans to remove the Speaker, even as a top spokesperson said the president would not get involved in the drama.

“We’ve always been very clear. We are not going to get in the middle of what’s going on in House leadership,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a briefing. “The president’s been very clear, he’s going to continue to focus on the American people.”

“We’re just not going to speak to what’s going on with the leadership,” she added. “I guess, you know, grab your popcorn, sit tight, watch what’s happening.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) filed a motion Friday to remove Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) from power, a rebuke of his endorsement of a bipartisan spending deal moving through Congress.

Greene filed the motion to vacate — the same procedural move that led to the ousting of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) — as the House voted to pass a sprawling spending package to stave off a partial government shutdown by Friday’s midnight deadline.

The chamber later passed the measure in a bipartisan fashion, but it crossed the finish line with more votes from Democrats than Republicans, angering conservatives.

Greene, a staunch ally of former President Trump, said she would not immediately trigger a vote on ousting the Speaker, but suggested it was a warning shot to Johnson.

Johnson was elected Speaker in October after McCarthy’s ouster and after House Republicans took several rounds of voting to land on the Louisiana Republican as their chosen leader.