By In a stunning defeat for Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), her effort to oust Speaker Mike Johnson from his position spectacularly failed on Wednesday.
Despite her fiery rhetoric and attempts to rally support, only 10 of her Republican colleagues joined her in voting to advance the motion to vacate, which would have removed Johnson from office.
The vote to “table,” or kill, Greene’s motion succeeded with an overwhelming majority of 359 to 43. The process took a mere 30 minutes, reminiscent of the chaotic events that led to the removal of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Remarkably, more Republicans voted to oust Johnson (11) than had voted to remove McCarthy (8), even though Johnson had been considered a conservative alternative to his California counterpart.
Following the vote, a visibly frustrated Johnson lashed out, stating, “Hopefully, this is the end of the personality politics and the frivolous character assassination that has defined the 118th Congress.”
In a surprising twist, only 32 Democrats voted against the effort to kill the motion, a stark contrast to the united front they displayed months ago when all Democrats voted alongside eight Republicans to remove McCarthy.
Greene’s motion was met with boos and eye rolls as she presented it on the House floor. Fellow Republicans accused her of throwing a “tantrum” and seeking attention.
The Georgia lawmaker had persisted in her attempt to dethrone Johnson, despite the apparent lack of support from her colleagues.
Prior to the vote, Greene and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) had engaged in over four hours of meetings with Speaker Johnson, presenting a list of demands. Greene claimed that Johnson had failed to live up to his self-imposed tenets.
However, Republicans grew increasingly frustrated with Greene’s efforts to plunge the House back into chaos, similar to the aftermath of McCarthy’s ouster.
Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) quipped, “It’s times like this you need a bar in this place,” as he exited the House floor. Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) heckled Greene, shouting, “You’re not the Republican Party!” as she spoke with reporters after the vote. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) went as far as to say, “Moscow Marjorie has clearly gone off the deep end— maybe the result of a space laser.”
During her speech on the House floor, Greene criticized the two-part spending bill that funded the government for fiscal year 2024, the reauthorization of the FISA spy tool without warrants, and a foreign aid package that excluded border security funding.
She accused Johnson of “aiding and abetting Democrats” to “destroy our country,” prompting boos from Democrats as Johnson shook hands and smiled at his Republican supporters.
Just one day earlier, Greene and Massie had indicated their willingness to give Johnson time to respond to their demands, which included cutting off funding for Ukraine, adhering to the “Hastert Rule” (only bringing legislation with majority Republican support to the floor), and defunding Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into former President Donald Trump.
Greene’s stance has increasingly put her at odds with Trump, who has publicly supported Speaker Johnson and acknowledged the challenges of operating with a slim one-vote majority.
Reports surfaced of a phone call in which Trump urged Greene to back off from her attempt to remove Johnson, but Greene declined to provide details on the former president’s level of support for her motion.
The resounding defeat of Greene’s effort to oust Speaker Johnson serves as a stark reminder of the deep divisions within the Republican Party and the challenges faced by those who seek to disrupt the status quo without broad support from their colleagues.
