WASHINGTON – The deputy loyal to Donald Trump. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) Said He Will Force a Referendum on House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) — but not until next week.
Greene has been filing her impeachment motion against Johnson since last month. At a press conference Wednesday morning, HuffPost asked why she wanted to wait another week.
“Everyone needs the weekend to prepare,” Greene said.
Greene’s initial threat against Johnson last month failed to stop him from letting the House pass bipartisan legislation that would reauthorize the government’s wiretapping powers and fund aid to Ukraine and other U.S. allies. And it has only become clearer over time that the motion will fail, with few Republicans supporting Greene and Democrats more than willing to bail him out.
The extended delay, however, does one thing – it maximizes attention on Greene, with even more reporters chase her around the Capitol grounds than usual.
Greene considered his hesitation more responsible than self-aggrandizing.
“I am not irresponsible. I worry about my conference. I was measured,” she said. “I gave it that time. I gave warning after warning after warning. And that’s why we don’t need to rush. We can do that next week.”
Acknowledging that her motion would fail, Greene said it would be helpful to force the vote so that voters could see Democrats supporting Johnson, whom she described as little more than a puppet of Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries (DN.Y.).
“I think it’s very gratifying that they’re ready to vote for Mike Johnson,” she said. “I want to see it happen.”
Johnson, for his part, made a blunt statement after Greene’s press conference: “This motion is wrong for the Republican conference, wrong for the institution and wrong for the country.”
Like Johnson explained at a press conference last monthdemands that Greene refuse to cooperate with Democrats on legislation would only result in stalemate, not victories for Republicans, because Democrats control the Senate and the White House, meaning they have a legitimate say in the legislative process .
Greene’s Republican colleagues also appear to be tired of her antics. Only two lawmakers have publicly supported his stance against Johnson, and only one of them, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), attended his press conference on Wednesday. (Greene said the other, Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), had a scheduling conflict.)
“There just isn’t the will in the conference to do something that drastic,” Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Florida) told HuffPost on Tuesday.
Republicans expelled their previous chairman, former Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), after he allowed bipartisan votes last fall. They had no alternative and spent three weeks before meeting with Johnson, after rejecting high-profile alternatives such as Reps. Steve Scalise (La.), Jim Jordan (Ohio) and Tom Emmer (Minn.). It’s even less clear now who Republicans might turn to next.
The most recent items that concern Greene and other far-right Republicans, a spy authority known as Section 702 and the Ukraine law, passed with overwhelming bipartisan margins.
The espionage bill received 273 votes, 126 from Republicans, while the Ukraine bill received 311 votes, 101 from Republicans. Only 218 votes are needed to approve something in the full Chamber.
A deal to avoid a government shutdown and fund the government through September also received broad bipartisan support, although it angered Greene and others.
Trump, however, said he supports Johnson. A reporter asked Greene why she is working against her leader’s apparent preference. Greene immediately donned a red MAGA hat.
“I’m President Trump’s biggest supporter and that’s why I wear this hat with pride,” she said. “I fight for your agenda every day. And that’s why I’m fighting here against my own Republican conference to fight the Democrats harder.”
