Marjorie Taylor Greene threatens to oust Mike Johnson to take center stage

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) returns to Washington this week celebrating several recent political victories but also facing a renewed threat to his gavel from a small but unpredictable group of conservative rebels enraged by his style. of leadership.

Johnson received widespread praise from leaders of both parties this month after introducing two high-profile proposals in the House: an increase in aid to Ukraine and an extension of Washington’s warrantless spying powers. But his decision to defend those controversial policies — and to strike deals with President Biden and Democrats to carry them out — has sparked a new backlash from a handful of hardliners who have vowed to oust him from power.

Leading the charge is Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who introduced a motion to vacate the resolution last month after Johnson endorsed legislation to fund the government, and is now escalating her threat to force him to to fall. Two other conservatives, Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), endorsed his effort.

With no urgent, must-pass legislation set to pass on the immediate timeline, this internal battle is expected to take center stage on Capitol Hill — a bitter fight between Republicans and Republicans that comes at an inopportune time for GOP leaders seeking to unite the party ahead of the November elections.

Greene has not said when — or even if — she intends to force the House to act on her motion to vacate. But she made clear her frustration with Johnson’s policy decisions, particularly his support for aid to Ukraine, which he opposed before taking office last October. And in recent public appearances, she has all but promised that a vote on her resolution is imminent.

“Mike Johnson’s talk is over,” Greene told Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” earlier this month. “He needs to do the right thing by resigning and allowing us to move forward in a controlled process.”

Such a vote would set the stage for extraordinary internal conflict because most other House conservatives – even those who share Greene’s distaste for Johnson – are coming out of the woodwork to say that now is not the time to throw the President out of office. .

Not only has Republicans’ slim majority become even smaller in the months since the historic vote to impeach former President Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), but the calendar has moved closer to the November elections, when the House is up for grabs, and even many hardliners are eager to avoid a bitter civil war that reaches the ballot box.

“The overwhelming feeling even among conservatives angry with him is that we need to focus on beating Democrats in the fall and not have this kind of debate now, heading into election season,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) told Fox News’s Guy Benson last week.

Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), head of the far-right Freedom Caucus and supporter of removing McCarthy, is issuing a similar warning. Good said Johnson “failed us” as McCarthy’s replacement, but argued that the current political environment makes this a bad time for another grudge match for the president, especially with no obvious successor to Johnson in sight.

“In my opinion, the estimate is that this is not the time to do that because of the much narrower margin, the much greater degree of certainty, the fact that I would not want to select someone now who would be, in my opinion, probably less desirable, maybe not the best option, would be a November starter,” he said.

Resistance from even Johnson’s staunchest critics complicated Greene’s pledge to remove the president from office. However, although conservative opposition to Greene’s motion to vacate is growing, some hardliners are leaving the possibility of supporting the effort on the table.

“I’m open to it,” Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.), who voted to remove McCarthy, told reporters earlier this month when asked whether he would vote to remove Johnson if a vote reached the floor.

“We’ll see if that comes to fruition; We’ll see if the trigger is pulled on this,” she added. “That won’t be up to me, but I’m definitely frustrated, like much of the conference and like much of the American people.”

But even if Greene’s army grows, it is unlikely to grow to a size that surpasses the chorus of Democrats who have said they are willing to protect Johnson from a conservative coup after he successfully shepherded aid to Ukraine through the House.

“I give him credit for doing this,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) told ABC’s “This Week” last Sunday.

“In fact, I would vote to make any motion to vacate it.”

Looming in the background of the debate over Johnson’s fate is former President Trump, the Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee. Trump, who grew close to Russian President Vladimir Putin during his tenure in the White House, has been cool to the idea of ​​providing more aid to Ukraine in its fight against Moscow — a dynamic that has energized Greene’s pledge to remove the president. of power.

However, Trump also took steps to avoid another chaotic fight by the President of the Republic, which could damage the Republican Party’s brand, just six months before the elections. Perhaps with that in mind, Trump hosted Johnson this month at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where he gave the House speaker a glowing assessment “under very difficult circumstances.”

“I stand with the speaker of the House,” Trump said, effectively giving Johnson cover to reveal his plans for aid to Ukraine three days later.

And he regained his support after Johnson promoted assistance to Kiev despite strong opposition from hardliners — including many of the former president’s closest allies, notably Greene — giving the House speaker credit for embracing his strategy of loan of aid to Ukraine and commenting on its handling of the crisis. The Republican Party’s slim majority, before advancing to the November elections.

“It’s a tough situation when you have one,” Trump told conservative radio host Chris Stigall, commenting on the GOP’s slim majority in the House. “I think he is a very good man. I think he’s trying really hard.”

“Once again, we need a big election,” he continued. “We have to elect some people to Congress, a lot more than we have now.”

Meanwhile, Johnson is blocking out the noise of the motion to vacate, criticizing hardliners for promoting an unrealistic all-or-nothing strategy and promising to move forward with legislative business ahead of the November elections – which will determine whether Republicans maintain control next year. year.

“I don’t think about her at all,” Johnson told Fox News’ Jesse Watters last week when asked if he has nightmares about Greene. “Some of my teammates want us to throw a Hail Mary pass on every play. It’s not a game-winning strategy.”

“Right now, when you have that margin, it’s 3 meters and a cloud of dust. Right?” He continued. “We got the next defeat, put points on the board and got to November and recovered and increased the majority in the House.”