Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has paid her price for backtracking on her threat to call a vote on House Speaker Mike Johnson’s removal.
In a nearly two-hour meeting yesterday requested by Greene to explore possible off-ramps, MAGA firebrand and allied Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) outlined several policy demands they are pursuing before canceling their plans.
They include, according to people familiar with the negotiations:
- No more aid for Ukraine;
- A return to the “Hastert Rule,”Which means that no legislation is brought to a vote without the support of a majority of the House majority;
- Funding Special Counsel Investigations on former President Donald Trump in upcoming appropriations; It is
- Application of the “Massie Rule”, whereby government funding is automatically cut across the board if no replacement agreement is reached before a set deadline.
They will meet again today at 12:30 pm in hopes of finding a detente. Spokespeople for Greene and Johnson declined to comment on their discussions, but the speaker issued a conciliatory note after yesterday’s meeting, sympathizing with Greene and promising to “keep this team together.”
Make no mistake, though, the pressure for Republican Party unity in an election year is taking its toll on Greene, who is battling exasperated GOP colleagues and skepticism from the party’s unquestioned leader, Trump.
Johnson could be in a position to fulfill at least some of Greene’s requests. Since this Congress has effectively finished passing controversial must-have items like government funding, raising the debt ceiling, and extending surveillance authorities, Johnson will likely be able to stick to the Hastert Rule (named after the former and now disgraced House Speaker Dennis Hastert).
Democrats agreed to a version of the Massie Rule during last year’s spending negotiations with then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy — so Johnson could probably go there, too.
As for Ukraine, Congress just sent Kiev $60 billion in aid — enough to last the entire year, by most estimates, though Greene may also want to get a nine-figure aid authorization in the bill. Pentagon’s annual report, which is expected to be approved later this year.
But defunding Trump investigations from special counsel Jack Smith could be much more complicated. In the past, frontline Republicans have balked at such demands, to say nothing of Democrats. If Greene expects Johnson to resist a long-awaited September continuing resolution, that would be a recipe for a federal shutdown just weeks before the election.
The two sides have not yet reached a deal – and may never reach one – but it is clear that temperatures are falling. After all, a handshake solution is in the interests of both parties: It would spare Johnson a risky vote in which he would rely on Democrats’ generosity to save his gavel.
And for Greene, we’re told her relationship with Trump and his inner circle is at stake. The former president “couldn’t have been clearer,” said a person close to him last night, as he signaled that he is not interested in any more intra-party drama this election season.
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