Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) is toning down her threat against Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), stating she will allow the Speaker more time to show his dedication to conservative priorities before pushing for a vote on her resolution to remove him from power.
Last week, Greene stated she would definitely bring her proposal to remove Johnson to the floor this week, pointing to Johnson’s history of working with President Biden on major legislation.
But on Tuesday, after meeting with the Speaker for over three hours across two days, Greene backed off that threat, stating she would not commit to bringing her resolution to the floor before the week ends.
“We’ll see,” Greene said when asked if she would follow through on her previous ultimatum. “It’s up to Mike Johnson.”
The change in strategy came after Greene had a phone conversation on Sunday with former President Trump, the likely GOP presidential nominee who has made a point of showing his support for Johnson in the face of Greene’s attempt to remove him.
One source familiar with the conversation said Trump advised Greene to drop her push to remove Johnson, and a second source said he advocated for unity.
When asked on Tuesday, Greene chose not to provide details about her conversations with Trump.
“I have to tell you, I love President Trump. My conversations with him are fantastic,” she told reporters. “And again, I’m not going to go into details. You want to know why? I’m not insecure about that.”
Prior to Tuesday’s meeting, the Georgia Republican laid out a series of demands for Johnson, indicating she would abandon her efforts to remove him if he agreed to them.
The demands include only bringing bills to the floor that have support from a majority of the GOP conference, a practice known as the Hastert rule; pledging not to pass any additional aid for Ukraine; defunding special counsels, including Jack Smith, who is investigating former President Trump; and implementing a 1-percent spending cut across the board if Congress does not complete its regular appropriations process by Sept. 30.
“I’ve been reasonable, I’ve been patient, I’m not acting for myself, I’m not asking anything for myself. What I’m trying to do is give Mike Johnson a chance to be a Republican Speaker, and he seems willing to try to do that.”
DEVELOPING.
Brett Samuels contributed.
