Marjorie Taylor Greene Keeps Them Guessing Mike Johnson’s Move to Vacate

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) is happy to keep them guessing.

Georgia hardliners introduced their motion to recall House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in March, framing it as a warning to GOP leaders ahead of explosive debates over government spying and aid to Ukraine.

However, more than a month later, Greene refused to force a vote on the resolution, even after Johnson helped sign both bills into law, despite cries from conservatives at their Republican Party conference.

And on Monday night — after a weeklong recess during which she escalated her threats against the House speaker — Greene was absent from the day’s only House votes, raising only more questions about whether she intends to pull the trigger. in his motion to vacate.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), one of two other supporters of Greene’s motion to vacate, said he spoke with Greene about the resolution during the break. But he’s also keeping his letters under wraps, refusing to reveal any details about when — or even if — the motion will reach the floor.

“Of course I talked to my friends,” he told The Hill when asked if he talked to Greene and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), the third Republican to support the recall effort.

Pressed on whether they discussed the motion to vacate, Massie responded, “Yes, we don’t talk about the weather.” But Massie has also expanded on his preference for resolving the conflict: He wants Johnson to simply resign – a request the House speaker has categorically rejected.

“He should [resign],” said Massie. “Ultimately, he will have to decide whether he will be the one-party president or not.”

However, despite the loud rhetoric and persistent votes, the delays and blathering of Greene and her two-man army are leading some to predict that the Georgia Republican will never take steps to force a vote on her resolution, leaving time is running out until the November elections. .

“I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.), a frequent critic of GOP leadership, said Monday.

Greene’s team, however, strongly rejects any notion that the congresswoman is backtracking on her threats. Nick Dyer, Greene’s spokesman, told Politico on Sunday night that “anyone who says they are quitting is either drugged, drunk or just plain crazy.”

And Greene herself kept the anticipation in high gear Sunday afternoon, writing on social platform that Johnson’s “days as speaker of the House are numbered” — although she did not provide a more specific timeline.

As time passes, however, Greene’s potential support is running out.

Crane, who told reporters earlier this month that he was “open” to supporting a motion to vacate, said Monday that while he has “left the door open,” the timing is not right for a Conservative coup.

“First of all, I don’t think it’s a good time. Second, I don’t think – if it were triggered – I don’t think it would pass,” Crane said. “I’ve said publicly several times that I think the Democrats would keep President Johnson, I think they would save him, so I don’t think this would pass. And furthermore, even if it were to pass, I don’t have a lot of confidence in the conference we have that we would get a more conservative president for the American people.

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), another Johnson critic, delivered a similar message but also appeared to leave the door open to supporting Greene’s resolution.

While Roy emphasized that he did not support the impeachment of Johnson’s predecessor, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) — and that Republicans’ main focus should be on the November elections — he also expressed his frustration with the decisions Johnson’s leadership and warned Republican voters to share them.

“People are frustrated… They want us to unite, they want us to unite, but we need to unite with a purpose. And that purpose cannot be to continue to do the same thing,” Roy told reporters outside the Capitol on Monday night.

“Right now, the election is six months away, and we need to focus on that. But we’ll see. There is still a lot of work to be done [fiscal 2025] levels, on other issues – Farm Bill – other things. Let’s see what our priorities are.”

Johnson, for his part, ignored the looming threat of impeachment. Last week, he told Fox News’ Jesse Watters, “I don’t think about her at all,” when asked about Greene.

And on Monday, asked if he had spoken to the Georgia Republican amid her removal effort, Johnson responded succinctly: “No.”