Marjorie Taylor Greene Mocked by Both Parties for Stunt To Remove Johnson
Democrat calls it "absurd" to remove speaker for "doing the right thing"
Both Republicans and Democrats are openly heaping scorn on Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Republican congresswoman from Georgia, who detonated a new political bomb on Capitol Hill by officially calling for the ouster of her own party’s speaker of the House.
Greene’s stunning move paves the way for Speaker Mike Johnson soon to be stripped of his gavel.
It is the second time in just six months that far-right Republicans are engineering the ouster of their own leader.
And with Rep Ken Buck’s resignation Friday, this attempt to depose the speaker comes at a time when the Republican majority itself is teetering.
When Rep Mike Gallagher (R-Wis) resigns, as he announced, in just a few weeks, Republicans will hold just a one-vote majority in the House.
Greene filed her “motion to vacate” the speaker’s chair Friday, complaining that Johnson chose to work with Democrats to fund the federal government, rather than allow the government to shut down.
“We need a new speaker. This is not personal against Mike Johnson. He’s a very good man, and I have respect for him as a person, but he is not doing the job,” Greene told reporters. “The proof is in the vote count today. He passed a budget that should have never been brought to the floor, did not represent our conference, and it was passed with the Democrats and without the majority of the majority.”
Johnson only assumed the speakership in October, after nearly a month of paralysis and chaos after another group of far-right lawmakers ousted then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif).
Now Greene’s ready to plunge House Republicans into tumult once more, and she’s being roundly mocked and derided for it, including by other Republicans.
“I think it’s not only idiotic but it does not do anything to advance the conservative movement. And, in fact, it undermines the country and our majority,” said Rep Mike Lawler (R-NY).
Former congressman, Adam Kinzinger of Illinois — one of the Republicans who led the investigation on the House January 6 select committee — dared Johnson to defy Greene’s threat by finally bringing legislation to the House floor to extend US aid for Ukraine.
“And then the Democrats could frankly come in and save Johnson on a motion to vacate, will see if he does that. I don‘t know if he‘s got the courage to do that, but we‘ll see,” said Kinzinger, who left Congress last year.
While House Democrats all chose to oust McCarthy last year in favor of voting for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) as speaker, this time they might not to save Johnson.
That’s what Rep Tom Suozzi (D-NY) plans to do.
Suozzi said that he would vote to keep Johnson in, as speaker.
“It’s absurd that he’s being kicked out for doing the right thing — keeping the government open,” he told CNN’s Manu Raju. “It has support of two-thirds of the Congress.
“The idea that he would be kicked out by these jokers is absurd,” Suozzi said, adding, “I hope” other Democrats join him in keeping Johnson.
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