Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R) made a bold move in the House of Representatives on Friday by filing a motion to vacate the speakership from Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., who has been serving in the position following former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s, R-Calif., ouster last fall.
She rose on the House floor to “voice extreme opposition to the second part of the omnibus bill – no Republican in the House of Representatives in good conscience can vote for this bill.”
The spending bill is worth $1.2 trillion and will avert a government shutdown, Axios reported. However, the passage of the legislation has irked many conservatives who are tired of passing trillion-dollar bills to keep the government running, especially as billions of dollars have been forked overseas to foreign countries like Ukraine. The legislation passed on Friday in a vote of 286-134.
Outside the Capitol Building, Greene told the press that the motion to vacate was “more of a warning than a pink slip,” so it is unclear how it will proceed forward after the two-week recess schedule for Congress over Easter.
Republicans in the House hold a razor-thin two-seat majority and depend heavily on a favorable 2024 November election season to increase their majority this year even further.
Speaker Johnson’s negotiating power as leader of the House has been significantly limited because of this slim majority. On Fox News, commentator Kayleigh McEnany reported that Rep. Greene had not yet spoken to President Trump about her decision to file the motion to vacate Speaker Johnson.
“Largely, President Trump and Speaker Johnson had a great relationship,” McEnany said. “Speaker Johnson just put out a tweet congratulating him on securing the nomination. Seems like a pretty big voice you’d want to get input from since he’s the titular head of the party at the moment.”
For her part, Rep. Greene told the press after filing the motion, “I paid all my dues to the conference, I’m a member in good standing, and I do not wish to inflict pain on our conference, and to throw the House in chaos.”
She continued, “But this is basically a warning and it’s time for us to go through the process, take our time, and find a new Speaker of the House that will stand with Republicans and our Republican majority instead of standing with the Democrats.”
