With lawmakers due to return to Washington, DC on Tuesday after a weeks-long recess, many eyes will be on Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) to see if she follows through on her threat to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana).
The firebrand congresswoman first suggested she would file a motion to vacate Johnson after he oversaw the passage of a $1.2 trillion appropriations bill last month just before a partial federal government shutdown was due to begin. Greene and members of the far-right House Freedom Caucus have been consistently calling for Johnson to pass steep budget cuts to federal agencies and even to endure a shutdown if necessary to fight for the most hardline GOP policies.
But according to a Saturday report in the Wall Street Journal, some GOP figures are souring on Greene as she sets her sights on the speaker. The Journal's Molly Ball wrote that after she "alienated many of her erstwhile comrades on the right and got kicked out of the House Freedom Caucus," the Georgia Republicans "is on an island, under fire from Republican members on all sides."
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"New York Rep. Mike Lawler, a moderate whose district President Biden won in 2020, has called her move against Johnson 'idiotic,' while Virginia Rep. Bob Good, the current Freedom Caucus chairman, accused her of 'grandstanding,'" Ball added.
Greene argued to the Journal that she is approached often by constituents who ask her to do something about Johnson, who has been in his position for less than six months. She appears to be playing her cards close to her chest, only telling the Journal that while there are "trigger points," she hasn't yet "put a date or time or decision on" when the motion will be filed.
"She gets to take a stand, draw attention to herself and fundraise—she doesn’t seem to have any agenda other than that," conservative radio host Eric Erickson told the Journal. "There is no plan there, she’s just throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks."
Greene's motion is unlikely to go anywhere, as current procedure dictates that while any member of the House of Representatives can file a motion to vacate, another member can file a motion to table it if two legislative days go by without a scheduled vote. That would effectively sideline the motion indefinitely. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Virginia) has already indicated she would whip votes to table the motion if necessary.
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One unnamed House Republican said he would consider supporting Greene's motion to vacate, but only under a very specific set of conditions. The implication was that the lawmaker would not support removing Johnson under different circumstances.
“If a package is put forward by the speaker that would fund Ukraine and not secure the border, [the motion to vacate] should be called up and it should be supported," the lawmaker said.
Johnson has defended his decision to pass the $1.2 trillion government funding bill, saying a failure to pass the bill by the deadline would be disastrous both for federal agencies and for the GOP's hopes to keep the House majority.
"A shutdown wouldn’t have served our party or assist us in our mission of saving the republic by growing our majority, nor will another motion to vacate," Johnson stated this week.
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Read the Journal's full report by clicking here (subscription required).
