Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) announced Wednesday she’ll act next week to force a vote on whether to oust Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), an extraordinary move highlighting the internal turmoil in the GOP.
But the effort is all but certain to fail after Democratic leaders said they would vote to protect the Speaker from her coup attempt.
Greene introduced her motion to remove Johnson from power more than a month ago, but her latest move is a sharp escalation of that effort, compelling the House to consider the measure within two legislative days after she activates her motion next week.
Greene has sharply criticized Johnson for cutting a number of deals with Democrats on critical legislation, including funding the government, approving billions of dollars in aid for Ukraine and reauthorizing the U.S.’s warrantless surveillance powers. She accused Johnson of “betraying” his conservative roots — and GOP voters more broadly — and warned that keeping him in power would discourage Republicans from going to the polls in November and ensure that Democrats will control the House next year.
“I voted for Mike Johnson because his voting record before he became Speaker was conservative … but once he became Speaker, he has become a man that none of us recognize,” Greene said.
“We’re not going to have a House majority if we keep Mike Johnson.”
Greene, flanked by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), another supporter of the vacate effort, acknowledged their effort is likely to fail on the floor. But they’re pushing forward, they said, to get every House lawmaker on the record so voters know where they stand on Johnson’s Speakership performance.
“If this vote fails and the whole conference, the whole Congress, supports the uniparty, let me tell you something, that is not a failure, it’s a win for the American people because that’s a list of names,” Greene said. “They deserve that list.”
Johnson, for his part, has been defiant in the face of Greene’s ouster threat. During an interview with NewsNation’s “The Hill” Tuesday evening, the Speaker said Greene is not “proving to be” a serious lawmaker. And Wednesday morning, after Greene’s announcement, he slammed her effort in a succinct statement.
“This motion is wrong for the Republican Conference, wrong for the institution, and wrong for the country,” Johnson wrote.
Greene’s announcement, made before a sea of reporters just outside the Capitol, followed weeks when Greene had attacked Johnson’s leadership style and threatened to remove him from power — but declined to force action on her motion-to-vacate resolution, leading to widespread speculation that she was backing away from the effort after Johnson received a glowing review from former President Trump.
Her decision to finally trigger a vote on the resolution came one day after the top three House Democrats announced that they would vote to table a motion to vacate if it came to the floor, joining a number of rank-and-file Democrats who have said for months that they’d shield Johnson from a conservative coup.
Greene suggested the Democrats’ support was the impetus behind her decision to force the floor vote, and it lends fuel to her argument that Johnson is a Democrat at heart. Photos of Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) — the pair is hugging in one — were displayed behind Greene and Massie during their press conference, and the podium was plastered with a sign that read: “Hakeem Jeffries endorsed Mike Johnson the uniparty Speaker.”
But only one other Republican — Rep. Paul Gosar (Ariz.) — has backed their effort, and a number of hard-liners have come out against it, leery of sparking chaos so close to November’s elections.
Greene’s struggles to find GOP support for her effort — combined with the Democrats’ promise to rescue Johnson on the floor — means the Speaker will likely survive the removal effort. That’s a contrast from his predecessor, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who was ousted by a different band of restive conservatives in October.
Yet Democrats have also emphasized that their support for Johnson is specific to Greene’s ouster effort, suggesting they would not swoop in to rescue him again if another motion-to-vacate resolution emerges in the months remaining before November’s elections.
Greene on Wednesday declined to say if she would force subsequent votes on Johnson’s ouster if the first attempt fails, telling reporters, “I haven’t made a decision on that yet.”
Greene’s decision to force at least one vote on her resolution, nonetheless, puts her in direct contrast with Trump, her close ally who has backed Johnson on a number of recent occasions while calling for unity within the Republican ranks.
Greene, however, is rejecting any notion that she is crossing the presumptive GOP nominee, underscoring her Trump bonafides while arguing that she is closer with the former president than Johnson.
“Absolutely not,” Greene said when asked if she is defying Trump’s wishes. “I’m the biggest supporter of President Trump.”
“The American people know and every voter that’s ready to line up and vote for President Trump in November knows between me and Mike Johnson, who’s supporting President Trump and his agenda?” she asked. “And that is absolutely me.”
At least part of the reluctance among House Republicans to join Greene’s effort stems from the reality that there is no clear alternative to replace Johnson, and GOP lawmakers are not eager to replay the chaotic weeks that followed McCarthy’s removal last year.
Both Greene and Massie dismissed those concerns, saying there are plenty of capable lawmakers in the GOP conference willing to push Trump’s America First agenda — and refuse any power sharing arrangements with Jeffries and the Democrats. But they declined to name names.
“We don’t have a list,” Massie said.
Updated at 10:44 a.m. EDT