Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Congresswoman from Georgia, made a motion to kick out House Speaker Mike Johnson from Louisiana but it was rejected in a 359-43 vote, with the support of her Republican colleagues and Democrats booing her There was an uproar in the House chamber as she presented the vote.
The House chamber erupted in boos as Greene read her resolution, The Hill reported. Following the defeat of her motion, the chamber’s members cheered. Even former President Donald Trump, whom Greene greatly admires, stated that now is not the right time to remove the speaker because it could be seen as causing chaos and negatively impact the Republicans during an election year.
“I appreciate the show of confidence from my colleagues to defeat this misguided effort,” Johnson said after surviving the vote. “That is definitely what it was.”
Over a month ago, Greene initially tried to oust the speaker. However, when she formally introduced it on Wednesday evening, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise took immediate action to table her measure, leading to its defeat in the subsequent vote.
Following the vote, Democrats clarified that their votes were not an endorsement of Johnson, but rather a recognition of his ability to compromise and willingness to allow votes on essential bills.
“Our decision to stop Marjorie Taylor Greene from causing further chaos in the House of Representatives and the country stems from our commitment to addressing issues for everyday Americans in a bipartisan manner,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said after the vote. “We need more practicality and less disorder in Washington, D.C.”
Greene presented a sudden motion to remove Johnson because he permitted the House to vote on a $1.2 trillion government funding bill that included funding for “trans ideology,” as she described it. The bill, which was mostly without her and other far-right Republicans’ desired anti-LGBTQ+ provisions, passed the House on March 22 in a 286-134 vote.
Rep. Thomas Massie and Rep. Paul Gosar, both from the far-right, pledged to support Greene’s effort to remove Johnson, but they were the only Republicans to do so.
Earlier in the week, Greene met with Johnson in an attempt to get him to agree to four conditions to avoid her ouster vote: only bringing bills to a floor vote if they have support from a majority of the GOP conference (something known as the Hastert rule), not passing any additional aid for Ukraine, defunding special counsel investigations against Trump, and cutting national spending by 1%. Johnson did not agree to any of her conditions.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell expressed relief that Democrats and Republicans joined together to defeat Greene. “I’m relieved as I think all of America is that the chaos in the House will be discontinued,” he said. “I think it’s a benefit to our country, a benefit to the House, a benefit to the reputation of Congress.”
Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) expressed disapproval of her action, stating, "To believe that a fellow Republican would call for his removal at this time is really, it's repulsive to me, and I disagree with it."
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) remarked, "It's not just foolish, but it actually does not help advance the conservative movement. And it undermines the country and our majority."
