Firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene to force vote to oust US House Speaker
Johnson
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[May 02, 2024]
By David Morgan and Moira Warburton
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene,
a conservative firebrand, Wednesday on Wednesday called for a vote to
oust Republican Mike Johnson as speaker of the U.S. House of
Representatives, a move that could embroil their party in chaos months
before the November election.
The move is a rare open act of defiance of Republican presidential
candidate Donald Trump, who has publicly backed Johnson as speaker and
dismissed the ouster threat as "unfortunate."
"Mike Johnson is not capable of that job he has proven it over and over
again," Greene told reporters on Wednesday, saying she would call for
the vote next week.
In a statement, Johnson called Greene's threat misguided. “This motion
is wrong for the Republican conference, wrong for the institution, and
wrong for the country,” he said.
If Greene's "motion to vacate" were to succeed, the House would then
have to select a new speaker for a second time since October, when
hardliners ejected Johnson's predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, in what was
then an unprecedented action in U.S. politics.
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But before any of that could occur, the House will likely vote to end
the effort.
Most House Republicans oppose the move, which raises questions about the
party's ability to govern at a time when Trump is in a tight election
race against Democratic President Joe Biden and House Republicans are
struggling to retain their 217-212 majority.
On Tuesday, House Democratic leaders said they would help block Greene's
move by voting to table, or set aside, her effort. They added that
Greene's effort "will not succeed." It was unclear how many House
Democrats would join their leaders in an unusual move to support a
speaker from the opposition party.
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![](../images/050224PIX/news_h15.jpg)
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) yells out at House Minority
Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) as Jeffries introduces newly elected
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) after Johnson was elected
to be the new Speaker at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S.,
October 25, 2023. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/May/02/images/ads/current/graue_lda_ChevySilverado4069_040824.jpg)
“Why would you go through with this? Look, we didn't get elected to
make excuses," said Representative Thomas Massie, who supports the
move and joined Greene at a news conference. "We didn't get elected
to say we shouldn't even try. We got elected to come here and give
it our best and also to impose transparency."
Greene filed her motion in March after Johnson avoided two partial
government shutdowns by moving spending legislation through the
House with more support from Democrats than Republicans. She said
she had not decided whether she would try again if the House blocked
her vote.
She gained the backing of Massie and Representative Paul Gosar as
the House considered and later passed legislation that supports U.S.
ally Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion, a bill that
a majority of House Republicans voted against.
Greene's use of House rules to force a vote on Johnson came as a
surprise to some Republicans, given Trump's opposition to the move
and her own assurances that she would avoid the weeks of political
paralysis that followed McCarthy's ouster.
(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Scott Malone and Jonathan
Oatis)
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