Greene, Speaker Johnson to meet amid ouster threat

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) will meet with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Monday afternoon as the Georgia Republican vows to force a vote on the GOP leader’s ouster, two sources familiar with the matter told The Hill.

The meeting is set to take place at 3:30 p.m. EDT, one source said. Greene requested the conversation, the source noted.

Greene announced last week that she would move to force a vote on Johnson’s ouster this week, after dangling her motion to vacate resolution over his head for more than a month.

Her effort, however, is all but sure to fail. A growing number of conservative Republicans have said they do not support the motion to vacate, despite their frustrations with the Speaker’s recent legislative moves, and top House Democrats said they will vote to table the removal resolution if Greene calls it to the floor for a vote, two dynamics that are eroding support for Greene’s gambit.

Only two Republicans — Reps. Thomas Massie (Ky.) and Paul Gosar (Ariz.) — have publicly expressed support for Greene’s motion to vacate.

But the GOP firebrand is, nonetheless, plowing ahead with her campaign, heaping sharp criticism on Johnson and arguing that all Republicans should be put on the record regarding whether they support the Speaker.

“House Republicans know this is true and Hakeem Jeffries started controlling the House when Johnson became Speaker. Anyone that hears this and still defends Mike Johnson’s Speakership is ok with Uniparty control,” Greene wrote on the social platform X.

Johnson, for his part, has remained defiant in the face of Greene’s ouster threat, brushing it aside as the incorrect play call for the current moment.

“I don’t think too much about the motion to vacate,” Johnson said on SiriusXM’s “The Laura Coates Show” on Friday. “I think it’s wrong for the Republican Party, I think it’s wrong for the institution, I think it’s wrong for the country. These are very serious times that we’re living in, and the American people need and deserve a functioning Congress, and I think that is the prevailing factor here.”

Greene has condemned Johnson for cutting a number of deals with Democrats this year, including legislation to fund the government, a bill to reauthorize the U.S.’s warrantless surveillance authority and, most recently, a foreign aid package that included billions of dollars for Ukraine.

The Georgia Republican, however, also aimed her fire at Johnson after Punchbowl News reported Monday morning that the Speaker signaled during a donor retreat that he would support booting members from their committees if they vote against party-line procedural votes.

One of the sources who spoke to The Hill confirmed that message but noted the remarks were hypothetical any moves would not occur until the next Congress.

Greene — who was removed from her committees shortly after coming to Congress in 2021 for endorsing conspiracy theories, racist dogma and violence against Democratic politicians — slammed Johnson for the reported plans.

“Speaker Mike Johnson is talking about kicking Republican members off of committees if we vote against his rules/bills. This comes after he’s serving Chuck Schumer and Biden’s every single wish and passing major bills with Democrats and not the majority of Republicans! It’s not us who is out of line, it’s our Republican elected Speaker!!” she wrote on X.

“By the way, being kicked off committees is nothing new for me. Badge of honor,” she continued in the social media post. “Don’t threaten me with a good time.”