The House of Representatives now has two workdays to act on Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s motion to oust Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.
Greene, R-Ga., has been threatening to force a vote on taking Johnson’s gavel since late March in protest of his handling of government funding and foreign aid.
Her resolution, known as a motion to vacate the chair, will now have to be voted on or tabled after Greene noticed it as “privileged” on Wednesday night – meaning House leaders have two legislative days to take it up.
The Republican side of the House chamber erupted in boos as Greene listed off her gripes against Johnson, prompting Democrat Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., to shout, “The House is not in order – and is about to fall into chaos,” prompting some sparse laughs from their side of the chamber.
The vote is expected to be close but ultimately fail, with both Republicans and Democrats voicing opposition to a move that would effectively paralyze Congress until a new speaker is found.
MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE FILES MOTION TO OUST SPEAKER JOHNSON
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is forcing a vote on her motion to oust Speaker Johnson. (Getty Images)
The vote is a culmination of six months’ worth of frustration from the most right-wing conservatives in Johnson’s conference, who have felt sidelined by him on nearly all critical legislation including foreign aid and government funding, during which they demanded he leverage a government shutdown to force the Democrats who controlled the Senate and White House to pass Republican policies.
Greene’s push got two more backers in Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., after Johnson ushered a foreign aid bill along bipartisan lines that includes $61 billion for Ukraine.
But it’s largely fallen flat among the House GOP, where even Johnson’s critics have shown little appetite for going through another three weeks of chaos like what followed the ouster of ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., in October – particularly six months out from an election.
HOUSE DEMS SAY THEY’LL BLOCK MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE FROM OUSTING SPEAKER JOHNSON
Massie said Democrats’ support for Johnson will likely move more Republicans to vote for ousting Johnson. (Getty Images)
With just a razor-thin majority of two seats, it would take little dissent for Johnson to lose the top House job if it fell along party lines. Eight House Republicans had voted with all Democrats to oust McCarthy in early October.
Unlike McCarthy’s case, however, House Democrats have pledged to come to Johnson’s aid by voting to table the resolution if it came up – a vote to table a measure, which essentially kills it, is a procedural hurdle that allows Democrats to block Johnson’s ouster without having to actually vote on whether to fire him.
Johnson’s critics seized on the left-wing support as evidence that the Louisiana Republican was not representing the interests of his own party.
“The entire Democrat Party is lining up behind Mike Johnson. First, it was the entire leadership team for the Democrats. Now, Nancy Pelosi, who impeached President Trump TWICE, has given Johnson her seal of approval. What deal has been made??” Greene wrote on X on Monday along with a video of Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., backing House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ decision to help Johnson.
MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE CALLS JOHNSON’S FOREIGN AID PACKAGE HIS ‘3RD BETRAYAL’ OF AMERICAN PEOPLE
Johnson became speaker after the ouster of ex-Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The move could save Johnson’s job, but could also cost him some Republican support.
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Massie told Fox News Digital last week when asked about how much GOP backing he expected, “I think it’s a kinetic situation. And Hakeem and the entire Democrat leadership team endorsing Mike Johnson is going to cause a lot of people who weren’t with us, to be with us.”
Johnson, for his part, has repeatedly told reporters that he’s not afraid of Greene’s threats and has insisted his focus is on governing.