Motion to vacate the House speaker coming soon, says Rep. Greene

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., on Wednesday morning told reporters that she had acted responsibly by entering a motion to vacate in March without calling for a vote. She said that she ran for Congress to work for the American people and that House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., was not working for the people.

Greene criticized the recent bipartisan laws passed by Congress to aid Ukraine and Israel. She also condemned Johnson’s previous work to pass a government spending bill and his recent vote to allow warrantless U.S. surveillance of foreign nationals. Greene roasted Johnson for verbal support he recently received from top House Democrats. Her press conference on Capitol Hill featured placards of Johnson hugging and shaking hands with Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies.

Why next week and not this week? Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who joined Greene at the press conference, told reporters that the motion was a somber decision and that the pair wanted Johnson to take the weekend to consider resigning.

What has Johnson had to say? In an interview for NewsNation taped on Tuesday, he said that Greene was not a serious lawmaker. After passing the foreign aid bills earlier this month, Johnson told C-SPAN he was doing what he believed was right. He added that if he acted only out of fear of losing his position as speaker, he wouldn’t be able to do the job.

Dig Deeper: Read Leo Briceno's story about Greene's plan to advance a motion to vacate the House speaker.