House Republicans snub Greene, stick with Johnson

What started as a relatively quiet set of final votes for the House of Representatives on Wednesday unexpectedly turned into a political showdown as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., took to the chamber floor, forced a vote to topple U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, and was resoundingly defeated.

The motion to vacate failed by a vote of 359-43, with just 11 Republicans and 32 Democrats voting to oust Johnson. Moments after the vote, Greene slammed the speaker to reporters on the U.S. Capitol steps.

“Americans, conservatives all over the country that gave us the majority in 2022,” Greene said. “They want a Republican Party that’s willing to fight for our agenda. They want a Republican Party that’s willing to pass President Trump’s agenda, and this Republican Party is not ready. They proved that today.”

As she assailed the speaker, other Republicans walking by made it clear that her political capital had taken a serious hit.

“You don’t talk for the Republican Party,” Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., said as he walked down the Capitol steps and past the crowd of reporters huddled around Greene. “You’re not the Republican Party.”

Greene contends Johnson has capitulated in his six months as speaker by passing funding for Ukraine, expanding child tax credits, and backing other policies Democrats support while failing to leverage them to secure GOP priorities. In Greene’s view, that’s why the vast majority of Democrats came to his defense. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., a key ally of Greene and a co-sponsor of her motion to remove Johnson, agrees.

But with a one-seat majority and Democratic control of the White House and Senate, other Republicans don’t see much of an alternative for House leadership.

“I think that we’re showing that we’re normal and even through these adverse conditions we can govern. We’re going to keep solving, we’re going to keep governing. This kind of distraction does not deserve the attention it gets,” Rep. John Duarte, R-Calif., said.

Duarte, also speaking on the Capitol steps after the vote, pointed back at Greene and Massie.

“These two are a couple of losers,” he said. “She’s trying to take out our speaker over her preference on a policy decision. We have to keep our institution functioning.”

The policy disagreements are only part of the reason Massie and Greene want Johnson gone. They see him as an ineffective party leader going into the November elections. According to Federal Election Commission filings, the House speaker’s political action committee, the Congressional Leadership Fund, had $68 million on hand at the close of the first quarter. That’s 26 percent less than the PAC had at the end of April 2022, going into a midterm election under Johnson’s predecessor, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., expressed confidence in the current speaker.

“There’s going to be a rally-around-the-flag moment, and I think, maybe, some of the 11 malcontents are going to realize how broadly supported by the conference Mike Johnson is. Hopefully, they’ll come to their senses,” Dusty Johnson said.

On Johnson’s continued leadership, Greene also faces a stronger opponent than any of the Republican moderates. In a post made to Truth Social, former President Donald Trump encouraged Republicans to stay united.

“I absolutely love Marjorie Taylor Greene,” Trump wrote. “However, with a majority of one, we’re not in a position of voting on a motion to vacate. At some point, we may very well be, but this is not the time. Mike Johnson is a good man who is trying very hard.”

While many Republicans believe Greene should face some sort of repercussions for attempting to overthrow Johnson, they shied away from suggesting she should be kicked out of the conference, given the one-seat majority keeping Republicans in power.

“The reality is with a very thin majority in our House, consequences are difficult. Her voters need to deliver consequences to her. She’s an embarrassment to her district,” Duarte said.

Greene first won election to the House in 2020 after beating a primary field of eight other Republicans. In 2022, her lone primary challenger dropped out of the race, and she was reelected by a margin of 31.8 percentage points.