Topline
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., faces a growing threat to his job as hard-right Republicans are threatening to try to remove him as speaker over his push to pass aid packages to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan—but it’s unclear if they have the votes to succeed as some Democrats could join Republicans in voting to save Johnson from an ouster.
Key Facts
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., introduced what’s known as a “motion to vacate” against Johnson last month after the House passed the fiscal year 2024 budget, though she did not do so as a “privileged” resolution, meaning there is no timeline for voting on the bill.
Intensifying her threat as Johnson prepares to send a foreign aid package to the House, Greene accused him of funding “foreign wars while refusing to force Schumer to hold a trial to impeach Mayorkas and demanding Joe Biden sign HR 2 into law,” she tweeted, referring to the impeachment of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and the House-passed border security bill.
Both Greene and Rep. Tom Massie, R-Ky., who announced Tuesday he would co-sponsor the motion to vacate, called on Johnson to resign, but he refused, telling reporters the removal threat was “absurd,” while calling himself a “wartime speaker” (it was unclear if he was referring to the wars in Israel and Ukraine or the GOP infighting).
Republicans hold a slim 218-213 majority in the House and can afford to lose no more than two votes to pass any legislation, including removing Johnson, meaning that if Greene and Massie joined all Democrats in voting to oust Johnson, the removal effort could be successful.
Multiple Democrats, however, have indicated openness to voting against ejecting Johnson, including Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, according to The Texas Tribune; Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., Rep. Annie Kuster, D-N.H., according to Politico; Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., Axios reported; and Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., who penned a Sunday Wall Street Journal op-ed titled “Democrats, Support Speaker Johnson.”
Some of those Democrats, including Spanberger, Raskin and Kuster, have said their votes to save Johnson would be contingent on his handling of the foreign aid package, namely whether he can break through hard-right opposition to pass funding for Ukraine, Politico reported.
Contra
Massie repeatedly told reporters Tuesday more GOP lawmakers would vote to remove Johnson than they did to remove former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., in October, predicting “for every Democrat who comes to his aid he’ll lose 2-3 more Rs.”
Tangent
Johnson said he will introduce legislation this week to deliver additional funding to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan after calls for aid intensified in the wake of Iran’s weekend attack on Israel. The package could also include policy riders to entice hard-right detractors, including aid in the form of loans, as former President Donald Trump has suggested doing for Ukraine. President Joe Biden and Democrats oppose the split package and have instead encouraged the House to take up the $95 billion aid package the Democratic-controlled Senate passed in February.
Crucial Quote
Trump, who is close with Greene, defended Johnson following a meeting with the speaker at Mar-a-Lago on Friday, telling reporters in a joint news conference “we’re getting along very well with the speaker, and I get along very well with Marjorie,” adding “it’s not an easy situation for any speaker . . . I think he’s doing a very good job, about as good as you’re going to do. I’m sure Marjorie understands that. She’s a very good friend of mine, and I know she has a lot of respect for the speaker.
Key Background
Johnson was elected speaker after a group of eight Republicans, not including Greene and Massie, voted to remove McCarthy, making him the first speaker in history to be ejected from his post. Johnson, who was relatively unknown in Congress prior to his election, won the gavel about three weeks later after four rounds of voting and multiple failed speaker bids by other, higher profile GOP candidates. Johnson inherited the chaos that led to McCarthy’s ouster—a GOP conference hamstrung by a small band of hard-right members who have leveraged Republicans’ slim majority in the House to block bipartisan legislation and push through their own policy priorities.
Further Reading
Marjorie Taylor Green Files Motion To Oust Speaker Mike Johnson Over Funding Bill (Forbes)
Mike Johnson Wins House Speaker Election—Ending Historic Three-Week GOP Impasse (Forbes)
McCarthy Ousted: First House Speaker Ever Booted From The Job (Forbes)
