Republican firebrand forces vote on ousting US House speaker

US Republican Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene (C), holds a press conference on House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ (L in photo) endorsement of Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson (R in photo), outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on May 1, 2024

A right-wing rebel lawmaker moved Wednesday to topple the Republican leader of the US House of Representatives in a vote that will likely fail — but could mire the already-divided party in fresh conflict ahead of November’s elections.

Under House rules, any single lawmaker can force a vote to oust Speaker Mike Johnson, and Georgia conservative Marjorie Taylor Greene finally pulled the trigger, more than six weeks after filing a “motion to vacate” his spot atop the Republican majority.

But Greene’s effort has failed to gain traction among her colleagues and, crucially, is not supported by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who recently said the speaker was “doing a very good job.”

Greene is even opposed by Democratic leaders, ensuring the effort is almost certain to fall flat when it comes to the floor. House rules require a vote within 48 hours, although the leadership could move to dismiss the resolution within hours.

Greene, a Trump ally, has two public supporters but none of the broader backing on the right that prompted the removal last year of Johnson’s predecessor, Kevin McCarthy.

She is vowing to plow ahead anyway, as she seeks to make Republicans go on the record about whether they support Johnson.

Many right-wing lawmakers are upset with the speaker for relying on Democratic votes to pursue an agenda they see as a betrayal of their conservative outlook on issues from Ukraine aid to government funding.

“No Republican speaker should ever share power with the Democrats. American voters gave Republicans in the House the majority for a reason… Mike Johnson must resign or be removed,” Greene posted on X on Friday.

But rank-and-file lawmakers are wary of repeating the chaos of McCarthy’s removal in a right-wing rebellion that left the House paralyzed for three weeks as they struggled to find a replacement, before finally settling on Johnson.

And with the presidential and congressional elections less than six months away, Republicans see threatening Johnson’s gavel as divisive and damaging to their prospects of unified control in Washington.

The voting tally is sure to be scrutinized for what it suggests about Johnson’s viability as a Republican leader after November.

Some allies of the speaker fear that his rescue by Democrats could make his position untenable in the long term, although the scale of the pushback against Greene may have stilled their nerves.

“She’s pretty much operating on her own, with one or two others who have expressed support for what she’s doing,” Bob Good, chairman of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus, told cable network NewsNation on Sunday.

Johnson condemned the move in an interview on SiriusXM’s “The Laura Coates Show” on Friday.

“I think it’s wrong for the Republican Party, I think it’s wrong for the institution, I think it’s wrong for the country,” he said.

ft/sst/dw