WASHINGTON — Conservative Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said Wednesday she will call a vote next week to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., sparking a high-stakes clash within of his own party and where Democrats are committed to helping avoid another prolonged vacancy in the position that occupies second place in the succession to the presidency.
Greene’s move is unlikely to succeed, but it nonetheless risks stoking internal tensions in the Republican Party as she continues to target Johnson, the nation’s most powerful Republican lawmaker.
Johnson has been defiant about the existential threat to his position as president, saying he has no plans to resign from his post because the vast majority of his conference supports him. House Democrats vowed Tuesday to kill any effort by Greene to oust her as speaker.
Greene, a second-term Georgia lawmaker, initially filed her motion that could lead to the impeachment of a House speaker in March. After weeks of threats, she said Wednesday she would act next week to force a floor vote.
“I voted for Mike Johnson because his voting record before he became president was conservative,” Greene said during a news conference Wednesday morning outside the U.S. Capitol. “But once he became speaker, he became a man none of us recognized.”
The upcoming showdown could plunge the House into chaos again after the lower chamber already saw the ouster of its last Republican Party speaker, former Rep. Kevin McCarthy. It took three weeks to find a replacement for the California Republican, amid significant Republican Party infighting, with former President Donald Trump demonstrating his power over the party by making public statements that undermined support for one of the main candidates.
“This motion is bad for the Republican Conference, bad for the institution and bad for the country,” Johnson said in a statement following Greene’s announcement.
Johnson also rejected Greene’s threat to oust her, suggesting to NewsNation in an interview that she was not a serious lawmaker: “Bless her heart.”
“I don’t like personal attacks. That’s not why I do this.” said Greene, responding to the speaker’s comments and drawing laughter during her press conference. “This has nothing to do with Mike Johnson as a person, but it is about his job performance.”
“A warm hug and a big wet, sloppy kiss”
Greene, along with Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., announced plans to force a vote in the House, flanked by two posters of Johnson kissing House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., when he was elected Speaker of the House last year. She said Johnson gave Democrats “everything they wanted.”
“We have Hakeem Jeffries and the Democrats coming to embrace Mike Johnson with a warm hug and a big wet, wet kiss and they are ready, they supported him, they are ready to support him as president,” Greene said .
Another potential leadership crisis has raised significant concerns among Republicans about the impact it would have on the party in a critical election year. It’s also unclear who might succeed Johnson if the speakership becomes vacant, but eyes would immediately turn to those who sought the position last year, including House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La. ., House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn.
But it remains unclear whether any of these potential lawmakers can secure the near-unanimous support needed from Republicans to become president. Greene declined to offer an alternative candidate, but said she believes “we have capable people.”
While Greene appeared to be a lone dissident at first, fellow conservative Massie joined his efforts in mid-April, calling on Johnson to resign or face a vote of no confidence in the House. Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., became Greene’s third public supporter days later.
A large majority of Republicans and Democrats are expected to reject Greene’s motion, but the conservative defended his decision, saying the motion would allow Americans to see who is supporting the speaker.
“I look forward to seeing Democrats come out and support a Republican president,” Greene said. “I also look forward to seeing my Republican conference show its cards and show who we are because the voters deserve it.”
Greene’s call to force a vote to oust Johnson comes after the House passed a series of long-awaited foreign aid bills, funding key U.S. allies including Ukraine and Israel.
Conservatives have repeatedly pushed Johnson to tie strict GOP-backed border and immigration policy changes to any foreign aid packages. But with a Democratic-controlled Senate and White House, such a maneuver would have killed any chance of Congress passing foreign aid, which its supporters say is essential to national security.
Johnson has long dithered on the issue under intense pressure from conservatives, but the speaker has made a remarkable shift in attitude, particularly regarding funding for Ukraine.
“My philosophy is you do the right thing and let the chips fall where they may,” Johnson told reporters in April. He said if he had operated, he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to do his job.
“History judges us and what we do,” added the Louisiana Republican. “It’s a critical moment right now, a critical moment on the world stage. I can make a selfish decision and do something different, but I’m doing here what I believe is the right thing.”
Johnson gave personal reasons why he supports aid to Ukraine, noting that his son is expected to enter the U.S. Naval Academy in the fall.
“This is a live-fire exercise for me, as it is for many American families,” the House speaker said. “This is not a game. This is not a joke. We can’t play politics with this.”
At Wednesday’s press conference, Greene held up a hat that read “MUGA,” echoing Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again” that took root in the 2016 presidential campaign. She said that “the single party will make Ukraine great again. The single party’s mission is to finance every foreign war. They think that this is the economic model that must be adopted.
Democratic support might not help Johnson
House Republicans control the lower chamber with a razor-thin majority and a one-vote margin, meaning that if Greene, Massie and Gosar call for Johnson’s impeachment, that would be enough votes — assuming Democrats join them – to overthrow the president. Conservative Republicans have suggested other members would be willing to expel Johnson.
A single aggrieved lawmaker can begin the process of impeaching a speaker through a move by McCarthy to change the lower house’s rules. In his own quest for the presidency early last year, McCarthy agreed to allow a vote on his ouster if requested by a single member.
Johnson’s allies pleaded with the speaker in April to change the rules to repel Greene’s efforts and any other possible dismissal threats. But Johnson announced that the House would continue to operate under existing rules.
Johnson and his fellow Republican leaders will almost certainly try to reject Greene’s pressure, and Democrats will support such a move.
“We will vote to table Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s motion to vacate the chair. If she invokes the motion, it will not succeed,” House Democratic leaders said in a joint statement Tuesday morning.
But it’s unclear whether Johnson could remain speaker with Democrats’ help. Conservatives and several other House Republicans publicly and privately doubt the chances of a Republican president remaining in power with Democratic support.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MTG to force vote on House Speaker Mike Johnson’s job
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