Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) followed through on her threat against House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) until Wednesday, calling for a vote on whether to remove him as speaker of the House after that negotiations with him had apparently broken down.
The move threatens to plunge the House back into chaos — a repeat of last fall, when then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy was expelled by a small group of Republicans led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida).
A variety of factors, however, left Johnson in a much stronger position than McCarthy.
First, the idea seemed to have little appeal among House Republicans outside of Greene and two other far-right members, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.). While many other Republicans are upset with Johnson, they are reluctant to risk another protracted public fight for the gavel.
Additionally, Democratic leaders said they would provide the votes needed to advance Greene’s motion, effectively killing it without directly voting on it.
Greene and Massie had been trying to negotiate with Johnson to find a way to avoid forcing Johnson to rely on Democratic votes to keep the gavel or having Greene make a potentially humiliating reversal after weeks of threats. But conversation Monday afternoon and Tuesday in the speaker’s office produced no results.
Johnson angered many Republicans by allowing a vote on military aid to Ukraine, a priority of President Joe Biden that has long been opposed by a far-right Republican faction, as well as the renewal of a controversial anti-terrorism spy authority and a final spending deal. federal funds for the rest of the budget year. All three items passed with strong bipartisan majorities, leaving GOP hardliners upset with Johnson for allowing them to speak out over their objections.
Under House rules, the vote on Johnson’s impeachment can be delayed for up to two days while the House is in session.
