Marjorie Taylor Greene, Mike Johnson In Talks Over Effort To Topple House Speaker
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) met in person Monday to discuss her threat to call a vote on ousting him from the speaker’s chair.
But the more than two-hour-long confab only led to an agreement to meet again Tuesday, leaving the question still open of whether Johnson, who just took the speaker’s gavel in October, is in danger of losing his job.
“We just had a very long discussion with the speaker. We’re going to be meeting again tomorrow, based on the discussions that we had, so we really don’t have any news to report at this time,” Greene told reporters afterward, flanked by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who has called on Johnson to resign.
Johnson also gave no specifics of what he and Greene had talked about in the long-awaited meeting, but he again emphasized that with only one vote to lose in straight party-line votes on the House floor, Republicans cannot be expected to win the big policy fights Greene and Massie appear focused on.
“It makes it very difficult for us, using my football metaphor as I often do, to throw touchdown passes on every play. Very difficult,” he said. “It’s three yards and a cloud of dust, we used to say.”
Greene had said last week she would formally ask for a vote on her move to oust Johnson after holding off on that for several weeks. But she delayed acting, saying members should go home and think about the issue over the weekend and hear from angry constituents.
Johnson is likely safe, though, given a seeming lack of public appetite outside of Greene, Massie, and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) among House Republicans for ousting him, and House Democratic leaders saying last week they would ensure an up-or-down vote on his speakership would not hit the floor.
It’s also unclear what concessions Johnson could give Greene as a potential face-saving measure if she wanted to back down, though Johnson mentioned Monday they discussed “some ideas” for changes.
The saga began March 22, when Greene initially filed her formal motion to declare the speaker’s chair vacant. She met with him April 10, but they came to no agreement. Greene and many other Republicans who do not support her move are angry over Johnson allowing floor votes on an annual spending deal, government authority to spy on foreigners abroad, a $61 billion Ukraine aid package and his tacit acceptance of Democratic help to stay in power.
