WASHINGTON — Far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Wednesday made good on her threats and criticized Republican Party Chair Mike Johnson (R-Ga.) for his decision to pass a multibillion-dollar military budget. , Louisiana) filed a motion seeking removal from power. Aid to Ukraine.
In the final series of votes this week, Mr Green took to the floor and announced that he would table a privilege motion to vacate the Speaker's chair, forcing a vote on Mr Johnson's future. When she officially announced the initiative, she was immediately booed by her colleagues.
“This is 'Unionist Party' for the American people watching,” she said, pointing with both hands in response to boos.
Two Republican officials said Johnson's allies would immediately move to the “table” or “defeat” Greene's motion to step down. Johnson's Republican allies said they were in a strong position to block Greene's efforts, given that Democratic leaders said on April 30 that rank-and-file members: Lawmakers will help defeat Greene's motion to vacate the speaker's seat.
That would at least temporarily save Johnson's job, but the fact that Democrats voted to keep him in power is sure to infuriate conservative activists and outside groups. And there is nothing to prevent Mr. Greene and other conservative opponents from forcing another vote on Mr. Johnson's fate in the future.
Although passionate about defeating Johnson, her campaign never gained traction among her colleagues. Conservative Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) co-sponsored the resolution to oust her. And under normal circumstances, those three Republican votes would have been enough to remove Johnson if the Republican majority were so thin that all Democrats voted to remove him from office. It should be.
But lawmakers from both parties are still stuck in a three-week paralysis in the House of Commons last fall, when Johnson's predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, became the first speaker to be fired midway through his term. Greene, a staunch McCarthy ally, vehemently opposed McCarthy's ouster and ultimately voted against it.
Mr Massey signed Mr Green's motion to step down, but reiterated that he did not want to force a vote to oust him and cause a similar turmoil, and instead urged Mr Johnson to voluntarily resign.
Lawmakers, including many conservatives, say they don't want a repeat of the fall's presidential race.
The idea that Democrats would intervene to save Mr. Johnson began to emerge in recent months.
Moderate Democrats publicly and privately said they would vote to bail out the speaker, especially after Mr. Johnson thwarted a government shutdown, pushed through an update to critical FISA spying tools, and passed billions of dollars in foreign aid to Ukraine after months of delays. expressed.