Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) announced Wednesday that she will force a vote next week on whether to recall House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), an extraordinary move that highlights the internal turmoil in the Republican Party .
But it is also a move that is certain to fail after Democratic leaders said they would vote to protect the president from her attempted coup.
Forcing a vote on the motion to nullify the resolution — which Greene introduced against Johnson more than a month ago — will force the chamber to act on the measure within two legislative days.
“I think every member of Congress needs to vote and let the chips fall where they may. And then next week I will call this motion to vacate,” Greene said Wednesday.
The announcement, made before a sea of reporters outside the Capitol, came weeks after Greene attacked Johnson’s leadership style and threatened to remove him from power – but refused to force action on her vacate resolution. , leading to widespread speculation that she was backing away from the effort after Johnson received a glowing review from former President Trump.
His decision to finally trigger a vote on the resolution came a day after the House’s top three Democrats announced they would vote to introduce a motion to vacate if it reached the floor, joining a string of rank-and-file Democrats who have said for months that would protect Johnson from a Tory coup.
Greene suggested that support from Democrats was the impetus behind her decision to force a floor vote, and that adds fuel to her argument that Johnson is a Democrat at heart. Photos of Johnson and Jeffries were displayed behind their news conference, and the podium was covered with a sign that read: “Hakeem Jeffries has endorsed Mike Johnson, the one-party chairman.”
But only two other Republicans — Reps. Thomas Massie (Ky.) and Paul Gosar (Ariz.) — supported his effort, and several hardliners spoke out against him.
Greene’s struggles to find GOP support for her effort — combined with Democrats’ promise to rescue Johnson on the floor — means the House speaker will likely survive the removal effort. That contrasts with his predecessor, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who was ousted by a different group of restive conservatives in October.
However, Democrats have also emphasized that their support for Johnson is specific to the effort to recall Greene, suggesting that they would not swoop in to rescue him again if another recall resolution emerges in the remaining months before the November elections.
Greene sharply criticized Johnson for reaching a series of deals with Democrats on critical legislative issues, including government funding, approving billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine and reauthorizing U.S. warrantless surveillance powers. She introduced the resolution as the House voted on a sweeping spending package last month.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
