Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) is doubling down on her commitment to oust Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), saying his days in the leadership position are “numbered” as House members await a potential privileged vote on a motion to vacate.
Greene last month filed a motion to remove Johnson, saying he crossed a line by holding a vote for additional Ukraine aid. Two other GOP lawmakers have already backed it — enough votes to remove the Speaker if all Democrats vote with her — though Democrats have generally opposed her effort.
“Permanent funding for Ukraine is exactly what they want and Mike Johnson will give it to them,” Greene said Sunday in a post on the social platform X, referring to Ukrainian leadership and the Biden administration. “Peace is not an option for them because it doesn’t fit the government appropriations war business and economic model, which is vile and disgusting.”
“They’re plan is keep funding the proxy war with Russia in Ukraine and when that doesn’t work, after all the Ukrainian men have been slaughtered, next they will put American troops on the ground,” Greene said. “Johnson will do whatever Biden/Schumer want in order to keep the Speaker’s gavel in his hand, but he has completely sold out the Republican voters who gave us the majority.”
“His days as Speaker are numbered,” she added.
President Biden signed the $95 billion foreign aid supplemental last week, which included about $61 billion for Ukraine aid. Most of that spending was to rebuild stockpiles of domestic weapons and supplies, and a significant portion of the aid that is set to go directly to the Ukrainian government will be in the form of a loan.
Despite introducing Greene’s motion to vacate, it has not yet faced a vote, as she has not marked the measure as privileged. With a House schedule free of must-pass bills this week, a fight over Johnson’s job could come soon.
Johnson’s decision to pass the foreign aid bill, backing down after a weeks-long standoff with Democrats, has garnered him bipartisan praise. It’s unclear if enough Democrats would back a motion to vacate to put his job at risk.
Former President Trump has also backed Johnson, putting any Republican thinking about backing the effort in a difficult position, potentially going against the most popular figure in the party.
“It’s a tough situation when you have one,” Trump told conservative radio host Chris Stigall last Monday, remarking on the House GOP’s slim majority. “I think [Johnson’s] a very good man. I think he’s trying very hard.”
“Again, we’ve got to have a big election,” he continued. “We’ve got to elect some people in Congress, much more than we have right now.”
No matter its outcome, a Speaker fight would likely further tear up the GOP House majority, which stands at just one vote after a spat of early retirements. Such a move could also threaten the party’s 2024 election chances with a second costly Speaker race in just a few months.
Johnson himself has brushed off the concerns, saying he is focused on passing legislation and growing the slim majority in November.
“I don’t think about her at all,” Johnson told Fox News’s Jesse Watters last week when asked if he has nightmares about Greene. “Some of my colleagues want us to throw a Hail Mary pass on every play. It’s not a game-winning strategy.”
“Right now, when you have this margin, it is 3 yards and a cloud of dust. Right?” he added. “We get the next first down, we put points on the board, and we get to November and we take back and grow the majority in the House.”
Tyler Mitchell