Marjorie Taylor Greene meeting with Speaker Mike Johnson over ouster vote
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) speaks at a news conference alongside Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) at the U.S. Capitol Building on May 01, 2024 in Washington, DC. During the news conference, Greene announced she would move forward with her motion to
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is expected to privately meet with House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday after threatening to call a vote on his ouster this week.
Green, Johnson, and Rep. Thomas Massie met on Monday for two hours inside the speaker's office. The details of that meeting have not been released, though both sides said it was "constructive."
Speaking to the press after the meeting, Greene remained cautious about saying whether she would move forward with the motion to vacate.
"I have been patient. I have been diligent. I have been steady. And I have been focused on the facts. And none of that has changed," she told ABC News.
Johnson told the press he understood the Georgia lawmaker's frustrations.
"I would really like to advance much more of our conservative policy on a daily basis here. But the reality is we are working with the smallest majority in U.S. history with a one-vote margin," he said.
House standoff over Speaker Mike Johnson
The standoff with Greene, one of Trump’s most enthusiastic supporters, risks throwing Republican control of the House into a fresh round of chaos as rank-and-file lawmakers will have to choose between ousting Johnson, R-La., as speaker or joining with Democrats to keep him on the job.
Last week, Greene announced her plans, pushing back against Republican Party leaders by saying Johnson was "not capable for the job."
Johnson, in his own statement, said Greene’s move was "wrong for the Republican Conference, wrong for the institution, and wrong for the country."
Democrats see in Johnson a potential partner, a staunch conservative who nevertheless is willing to lead his Republican Party away from the far-right voices obstructing the routine business of governing, including funding the government and, more recently, supporting Ukraine and other U.S. allies overseas.
Democrats, Republican leaders support Johnson
The Democratic leader, New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, and his team issued a joint statement last week saying it was time to "turn the page" on the GOP chaos, announcing that the Democrats would vote to table Greene’s motion to vacate the speaker’s office, essentially ensuring Johnson is not evicted from office — at least on this attempt.
"Marjorie Taylor Green is the star of the show. The show is called Republicans Gone Wild," he added. "It is undermining the well-being of the American people and preventing us from delivering real and meaningful results on the issues that matter."
Johnson’s public opponents are few, at this point, and fewer than the eight that it took to oust now-former Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., last fall in the first-ever removal of a sitting speaker from the powerful office that is second in the line of succession to the president. Just one other Republican, Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona, joined Greene and Massie in their effort.
The turmoil has gripped a House already essentially at a standstill. Johnson has been unable to command his razor-thin majority to work together on party priorities and has been forced into the arms of Democrats for the votes needed to approve most big bills — and now, to keep his job.
Johnson had been elected by Republicans as a last-ditch consensus candidate after McCarthy’s ouster, but he courted the far-right’s ire when he led the passage of the $95 billion foreign aid package for Ukraine and U.S. allies that they opposed.
Trump has given a nod of support to Johnson, who dashed to the former president’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida last month to shore up backing.
Other Republican leaders, including Trump’s hand-picked head of the Republican National Committee, Michael Whatley, have urged House Republicans to hold off the removal effort before the fall election that will determine which party controls the White House and Congress.
Will the Democratic House members table Greene's motion?
While the Democratic leaders have said they would provide the votes to table Greene’s motion when it comes forward, essentially shelving it for now, it is not clear that all Democratic lawmakers would join that effort.
At their own private meeting this week, some Democrats objected to helping Johnson, particularly after he helped lead Trump’s legal challenges to the 2020 presidential election won by Democrat Joe Biden. Party leaders have said their support for sidelining Greene’s resolution is not the same as a vote for Johnson.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.