Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) ineffective effort to recall House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) was a major anticlimax, but one that could have repercussions much longer than the 35 minutes the House took to dismiss your motion to vacate.
The heavy consequences range from how Johnson might lead his warring factions through upcoming legislative battles after being supported by Democrats to how it could shape this fall’s elections and the House’s power dynamics.
After Wednesday’s vote, frustrated Republicans said the extent of the fallout won’t be known for some time. But it was immediately clear, some added, that the infighting does nothing to improve the Republican Party’s image in the eyes of voters.
“This is certainly harmful to the Republican Party,” said Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.).
And even if Greene’s bet is in the rearview mirror, the Republican-Republican clashes may not be over.
Greene did not rule out the possibility of filing another motion to vacate in the future.
And moderate Republicans — who were angered by their conservative colleagues’ agitational tactics across Congress — quickly turned their fire on Greene and the 10 Republican lawmakers who joined her in voting against introducing the removal resolution, promising consequences to the group after they put the House and GOP conference at risk of further dysfunction.
“The people who are causing the chaos are going to have to be held accountable for it,” Rep. Marc Molinaro (RN.Y.) said shortly after the vote.
Rep. Mike Lawler (RN.Y.), who has been openly critical of the right flank for months, said Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), co-sponsor of the motion to vacate, and Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), who opposed the introduction of the resolution, should be “immediately removed” from the powerful House Rules Committee, which plays a key role in determining which legislation reaches the floor. He also suggested expelling others in the group of 11 from their respective panels.
“You have to have consequences for actions,” Lawler said. “People need to be held accountable.”
The internal battle is happening at an inopportune time for Republican Party leaders, who had hoped to bridge party differences and focus their attention on President Biden’s handling of the border and the economy. Instead, they were forced to suppress an internal revolt that even some of Johnson’s staunchest critics opposed so close to the election.
“I think it’s a bad idea at this point,” said Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.).
Hoping to discourage another challenge to the presidency, several Republicans are already discussing changing House rules so that no lawmaker has the power to force a motion to override a vote on the House floor.
The rule was implemented as part of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) negotiations to take power. It was then used to oust him 10 months later.
“The rule has been abused,” Scott said. “The place can’t function if you change the speaker every six months.”
Such a modification, however, would likely provoke more infighting within the GOP ranks, pitting hardliners who want to protect the one-member threshold against moderates eager to change the chaos-inducing rule.
The conference got a taste of that battle last month, when Johnson — in the midst of Greene’s impeachment threat — reportedly deliberated changing the rule, only to face an onslaught from Republicans who threatened to oust him if he followed through. The President ended up abandoning the idea.
Greene, for her part, is dismissing the threat of retribution — especially the warning about losing her committee assignments — dismissing the prospect as a “it’s already happened” danger, after being removed from her committees during her first month on the job. position when Democrats controlled the chamber.
“They probably want to kick me off the committees, they probably want the primaries. I say, go ahead,” she declared after the vote. “They probably want to do all kinds of things and, you know what, that’s their problem.”
The soft-spoken Johnson says he’s ready to move on, promising he won’t hold Greene’s efforts against her.
“I don’t hold a grudge,” he told “Fox and Friends” the morning after the vote.
However, Greene is not the only critic of Johnson in the Republican Party. And several conservatives — even those who opposed Greene’s removal strategy — say they will not support the House Speaker’s already stated goal of remaining his party’s leader in the next Congress.
These lawmakers share Greene’s frustrations with Johnson’s record of forging bipartisan agreements with Biden on important legislation, and are ready to hold him accountable for the deals he endorses — a warning ahead of yet another upcoming debate over government funding. . head in September.
According to these numbers, the Democrats’ rescue of Johnson will not be forgotten anytime soon.
“Mike has maintained the status quo of increasing the national debt and passing America Last legislation,” Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), who voted to send Greene’s motion to the floor, said in a statement. “The Democratic Conference has made clear its intention to save the president’s position, but I felt it necessary to vote in a way that expressed my frustration with the president’s lack of conservative leadership.”
Roy, another critic of Johnson’s leadership style, made a similar charge, criticizing the House speaker for backtracking on promises to cut spending and secure the southern border.
“Speaker Johnson remains a friend,” Roy said in a statement. “However, as I said when I voted for Mike in October, I am committed to holding him – and every other member of Republican leadership – accountable for doing what we said we would do.”
Despite all the infighting and anger this week, one relationship that doesn’t appear to have been tarnished is that between Greene and former President Trump, a surprising outcome considering the two GOP figures found themselves on opposite ends of the bitter battle of movement to vacate.
Trump, who frequently engages in heated debates on Capitol Hill, has expressed support for Johnson on multiple occasions amid the threat of impeachment — including during a joint appearance at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida — a punch in the gut for Greene , who considers herself a close ally of the former president.
Greene, however, pressed ahead with her removal mission, pulling the trigger on Wednesday even after Trump urged her to abandon her effort and emphasized unity during a phone call on Sunday.
But despite this collision course, the bond between Greene and Trump is apparently secure.
On aSocial Posting the TruthUrging Republicans to vote to table the motion to vacate — which was published minutes after the successful vote — Trump said “I absolutely love Marjorie Taylor Greene,” predicting that “she will be around, and by our side, for a long time . ”
And Greene, who launched her explosive political career on Trump’s shoulders, thanked the former president for his support, despite his efforts to derail his entire crusade.
“I’m very grateful for President Trump’s support,” Greene told reporters after the failed vote. “He made a statement today – and unfortunately it came after the vote, I think it was a bit late – but I’m grateful for his support.”
“I support him.”
Filip Timotija contributed.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
