Marjorie Taylor Greene struggles to find GOP support to unseat Mike Johnson

WASHINGTON — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., is struggling to find allies in her push to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson after he put Ukraine funding on the ballot, with many far-right Republican colleagues saying she oppose his cause after a week-long recess.

“I oppose a motion to vacate at this time,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Florida, who led the “motion to vacate” that removed former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and criticized Johnson, R-La.

“I think that’s practically not going to happen. We have a very slim majority,” added another Florida Republican, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who has been highly critical of Johnson but worries that Democrats could end up in the majority. after another chaotic coup.

“I don’t support what he’s doing; he went back on his word to us,” she said of Johnson. “However, I will not risk giving the gavel to a Democrat.”

Gaetz and Luna weren’t alone. Numerous conservative lawmakers who have criticized Johnson’s recent spending bills and foreign aid package said as the House returned from a weeklong recess that they are not ready to support Greene’s effort to remove Johnson. They cited a number of reasons: they fear it could disrupt Republican Party unity before the election, they worry there won’t be a better replacement, they believe it would fail due to a reduced majority, and some say the timing isn’t right.

“I’m not hearing a lot of critical mass in favor of this,” said Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., who added that he doesn’t expect the motion to reach the floor. “I’m not hearing any conversations.”

Asked whether he would vote to remove Johnson as he did McCarthy, Biggs told reporters on Monday: “I’m not going to answer a hypothetical. What I said is: this is not the time. Although I am deeply frustrated, disappointed and displeased, this is not the time.”

He echoed Luna’s concerns that the House could end up electing a Democrat as president because Republicans are on the verge of a “one-vote majority” and if “one person is sick,” they could end up being in the minority that day.

Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., said the motion would fail if introduced.

“I left the door open, but I don’t think it’s a good time. Two, if it was triggered, I don’t think it would pass,” he said. “I think the Democrats would keep President Johnson. I think they would save him. So I don’t think it would go away. And furthermore, even if it were to pass, I don’t have a lot of confidence in the conference we have that we would get a more conservative speaker for the American people.”

Crane said he does not expect the matter to come to a vote, although he has not heard it directly from Greene. “It’s the little rumor,” he said. “I haven’t spoken to Marjorie about it.”

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said he is deeply frustrated by the House speaker’s actions. “You just financed Ukraine. You just finance Israel. You just funded Hamas while funding Israel,” he said, referring to humanitarian aid for Gaza civilians. “You just funded a massive $1.7 trillion government expenditure. You gave up all the influence you had to deal with the border. So now we have to get busy trying to convince people to elect us so we can do better next year.”

Still, Roy said he’s more focused on upcoming issues, like passing a farm bill and the next round of government funding in October.

“We were at home, we talked to voters. My constituents completely agree with my concerns and, frankly, have made it clear they are angry about this,” Roy said. “They also want us to unify and defeat the Democrats. So we have to do these two things. I think we can unify and defeat the Democrats with a clear agenda. And I think that’s what we should focus on right now.”

Republicans in competitive districts are eager to put the issue aside and focus on the upcoming elections.

“If this is real, it is ridiculous, absurd and harms the institution and our work. If it is a bluff, it will be a horrible abuse and a waste of time,” said Rep. Marc Molinaro, R-N.Y. “And by all means, put him to bed. Let’s continue.”

Meanwhile, the top three House Democrats, led by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., issued an extraordinary joint statement on Tuesday, promising that they would vote to save Johnson if Greene introduced her motion, saying that “it has come to time to turn the page on this chapter of pro-Putin Republican obstruction.”

“We will vote to introduce Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene’s motion to vacate her seat. If she invokes the motion, she will not succeed.”

Greene missed votes on Monday, avoiding a group of reporters looking for her, and her office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Democrats’ statement. But she did not accept the threat to expel Johnson from the table.

“Johnson will do whatever Biden/Schumer wants to keep the speaker’s gavel in his hands, but he has completely sold out the Republican voters who gave us the majority,” Greene wrote on X.

“Your days as speaker of the House are numbered,” she continued.

Just two fellow conservatives — Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Paul Gosar, R-Ariz. – co-sponsored its resolution. But neither gave clear answers on whether a vacate vote would happen soon.

“My understanding is that the Democrats are going to cover him, so we’re going to play the psychological game,” Gosar told NBC News, adding of Johnson’s future: “The seeds have been planted.”

Massie also received no update when asked if or when that would happen.

“We’re not going to talk about it right now,” he said, adding that he’s spoken to voters and “I haven’t received any negative reactions.”

But Massie maintained his position that Johnson should go.

“He’s not inspiring anyone to give us a majority if they want to share a majority with the Democrats,” he said, accusing Johnson of using “weapons of mass distraction” from his policies, such as his visit to Columbia to quell protests. on campus.

Massie said Trump’s lukewarm support for Johnson is telling.

“Sometimes, by lightly praising someone, you can condemn him. And I haven’t seen a full defense of Mike Johnson because, ultimately, Trump doesn’t like losers. And he’s, I think, worried about Mike Johnson and tying his future to that. And it would be a bad move to campaign with him,” said the Kentucky Republican.

“Mike Johnson will only drag Trump down.”