WASHINGTON – Hardline Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene tried and failed in a brazen effort to unseat House Speaker Mike Johnson, but the resounding rejection from turmoil-weary Republicans and Democrats does not guarantee an end to the GOP chaos.
One of Donald Trump’s biggest supporters in Congress, Greene stood on the House floor Wednesday night and read a long list of “transgressions” she said Johnson had committed as speaker of the House, since passing a national security of US$95 billion with aid to Ukraine until its approval. trust in Democrats wielding power.
Colleagues booed in protest. But Greene pressed on, criticizing Johnson’s leadership as “pathetic, weak and unacceptable.”
After Greene triggered a vote on her motion to remove the Republican president from office, Republican Majority Leader Steve Scalise quickly responded, first calling for a vote to table it.
An overwhelming majority, 359-43, kept Johnson in office for now.
“As I’ve said from the beginning, and I’ve made it clear here every day, I intend to do my job,” Johnson said afterward. “And I’ll let the chips fall where they may. In my opinion, that is leadership.”
It is the second time in a matter of months that Republicans have worked to remove their own speaker of the House, an unprecedented level of partisan unrest, with a move rarely seen in US history.
While the result temporarily calms the latest source of unrest in the House, the vote count shows the strengths but also the hard limits of Johnson’s grip on the gavel, and the risks ahead for any Republican trying to lead the GOP.
Without Democratic help, Johnson would certainly have faced a bleaker outcome. In all, 11 Republicans voted to pursue Greene’s effort, more than were needed to remove then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last fall, a first in U.S. history.
But by relying on Democratic support, Johnson risks inciting further criticism that he is not sufficiently loyal to the party.
And the threat still persists – any lawmaker can invoke the motion to vacate the speaker.
Although Trump gave a much-needed nod of support to Johnson at crucial moments, it is not viable to move forward. The former president made an idle warning about the possibility of dismissing the president of the Chamber while the vote was in progress.
“At some point we very well may be, but this is not the time,” Trump said on social media.
Trump also made it clear that he still valued Greene, perhaps his greatest ally in the House, even though he rejected her proposal. “I absolutely love Marjorie Taylor Greene,” he said while urging Republicans to table their motion.
As Greene moved forward with early voting, GOP lawmakers filtered toward Johnson, patting him on the back and grabbing his shoulder to assure him of their support.
The Georgia Republican promised weeks ago that she would force a vote on the motion to remove the Republican president if he dared move forward with the foreign aid package for Ukraine, which was overwhelmingly approved late last month and signed into law.
But in recent days it appeared her effort had cooled, as she and Johnson met repeatedly about a possible resolution.
Louisiana’s Johnson went on to say he was willing to take the risk to approve foreign aid, believing it was important for the U.S. to support Ukraine against Russia’s invasion and explaining that he wanted to be on the “right side of history.”
Highly unusual, the push by Democrats led by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York showed exhaustion in Congress over the antics of the far right. Jeffries and his leadership team said it was time to “turn the page” on the Republican Party’s turmoil and vote in favor of Greene’s resolution — ensuring that Johnson’s job would be saved, for now.
“Our decision to stop Marjorie Taylor Greene from plunging the country into even more chaos is rooted in our commitment to solving problems,” Jeffries said after the vote.
But Democrats also made clear that their help was for this moment only and not a promise of a lasting partnership for Johnson’s survival.
Asked about a future motion to vacate the speaker, Jeffries said, “I haven’t thought about it yet.”
The move now poses its own political risks for Greene, a high-profile provocateur who has moved to the party’s forefront with her own massive following and closeness to Trump.
Greene was determined to force her colleagues to register their vote – putting them in the politically uncomfortable position of supporting the speaker and seen as joining forces with Democrats to save him.
“I’m proud of what I did today,” Greene said afterward on the steps of the Capitol.
As reporters and camera crews crowded around Greene and ally Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., a group of other Republicans gathered on the steps trying to divert attention from her and make their own views known.
Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., said of those trying to remove the speaker, “They’re very good at getting attention, but they haven’t been recognized for their ability to get things done.”
He said if they keep pushing to remove the speaker, “I think you can expect more of the same: failure.”
Representative Carlos Giménez, a Republican from Florida, said of Greene: “She does not represent the Republican Party. I’m tired of this being the face or voice of the party and attracting attention. That’s all she wants, is attention.”
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., called for Greene and Massie to be punished for their actions.
Had Democrats not taken the unusual step of helping, the vote likely would have ended differently for Johnson, who holds one of the smallest House majorities in modern times, with no votes to spare.
Last year, the House chamber was plunged into chaos when eight Republicans voted to remove McCarthy from the speaker’s office and Democrats refused to help save him.
McCarthy’s ouster resulted in a nearly month-long search for a new Republican leader, paralyzing the House with an episode Republicans wanted to avoid before the November elections.
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Associated Press writers Stephen Groves, Mary Clare Jalonick, Michelle Price and Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report.
