Jayapal says Democrats won’t consistently save Johnson

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said Wednesday that Democrats’ pledge to end a motion to vacate the House against House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will not become a habit, warning that the party still may remove it from the paper in the future.

House Democratic leadership said the party will vote to advance Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) motion to vacate in an expected vote next week, effectively saving Johnson’s job. The move comes after the House speaker approved a bipartisan bill on foreign aid spending, a months-long priority for Democrats.

Jayapal, in an interview Wednesday with MSNBC’s Alex Wagner, said much of the party will not vote to save Johnson again.

“I will say that Leader Jeffries has been clear, and I have been clear to him and many of our members have been clear to him, that we are not going to consistently save the speaker who is anti-choice, anti-immigrant, anti-democracy,” she told Wagner. “I went to Mar-a-Lago to kiss Donald Trump’s ring and talk about how – you know, all these lies about how people are voting that shouldn’t be voting, anti-LGBTQ, and really using division, hate, xenophobia to drive a political agenda.”

“I don’t think we can do this again,” Jayapal continued. “But I understand this is a unique opportunity to ensure we continue the work of the Chamber.”

She added that despite Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ (DN.Y.) pledge, some Democrats will still vote to uphold Greene’s motion to kill the resolution, including her.

“I’m not going to vote to table this motion, Alex, but I know there will be some in our party and leader Jeffries has said we should feel free to vote according to our conscience,” she said.

Despite opposition from both parties, Greene said Wednesday she will move forward with the motion, with the intention of a roll call vote protecting Johnson, which could harm those who support him. Only two other Republican lawmakers — Reps. Thomas Massie (Ky.) and Paul Gosar (Ariz.) — supported his effort to unseat him.

“Every member of Congress needs to take this vote,” she said. “I can’t wait to see Democrats support a Republican president and have to go home for the primaries. … And I also can’t wait to see my Republican conference show its cards and show who we are.

Greene added: “Are they really willing to fight? Or will they stay together to get along?

In an interview that aired Wednesday on NewsNation’s “The Hill,” Johnson fired back at the Georgia Republican’s attacks.

“I don’t think she’s proving herself, no,” Johnson said in the interview, which was recorded Tuesday night, when asked if he thinks Greene is a “serious legislator.”

“I don’t spend much time thinking about her,” the Speaker continued. “I have to do my job, do the right thing and let things fall where they may. That’s my philosophy. This is how we govern.”

He also suggested that he would be willing to remain in the leadership position in the next Congress.

NewsNation is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which also owns The Hill.