Greene files motion to oust Speaker Johnson

Mike Lillis

Greene filed the motion to vacate — the same procedural move that led to the ousting of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) — as the House voted to pass a sprawling spending package to stave off a partial government shutdown by Friday’s midnight deadline.

The chamber later passed the measure in a bipartisan fashion, but it crossed the finish line with more votes from Democrats than Republicans, angering conservatives.

Greene, who has emerged as a top critic of Johnson since he took the gavel in October, said she would not immediately trigger a vote on ousting the Speaker — “this is basically a warning” — but she asserted she may force a referendum on his standing in the House down the road.

“Today, I filed a motion to vacate after Speaker Johnson has betrayed our conference and broken our rules,” Greene told reporters on the steps of the Capitol.

“I respect our conference; I paid all my dues to my conference; I’m a member in good standing, and I do not wish to inflict pain on our conference and to throw the House in chaos,” she added. “But this is basically a warning, and it’s time for us to go through the process, take our time, and find a new Speaker of the House that will stand with Republicans in our Republican majority instead of standing with the Democrats.”

Pressed on when she would force a vote on Johnson’s removal, Greene said she didn’t “have a timeline” and noted it “will be a rolling issue that we’ll be judging and making decisions by.”

“I’m not saying that it won’t happen in two weeks, or it won’t happen in a month or who knows when, but I am saying the clock has started,” Greene said. “It’s time for our conference to choose a new Speaker.”

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An official told The Hill that Greene did not notice her resolution as privileged, which means the House cannot consider the legislation until after recess. The House is scheduled to break for a two-week Easter recess Friday.

Raj Shah, a spokesperson for Johnson, brushed off Greene’s threat, asserting the Speaker is focused on legislating.

“Speaker Johnson always listens to the concerns of members, but is focused on governing. He will continue to push conservative legislation that secures our border, strengthens our national defense and demonstrates how we’ll grow our majority,” Shah said in a statement.

Appearing on Steve Bannon’s podcast earlier Friday morning, Greene accused Johnson of giving too much away to President Biden and Democrats in the course of the government funding negotiations. She suggested she was seriously weighing a move to file a motion to vacate the Speakership.

“We are making that decision on a minute-by-minute basis today, Steve, and I think you can stay tuned,” she told Bannon.

Pressed by Bannon if she’ll lead the charge in an effort to oust Johnson, Greene again suggested a motion to vacate might be imminent.

“We are going to be making decisions on a minute-by-minute basis today, and I urge you to watch and see what happens,” she said.

The $1.2 trillion government funding package approved Friday combines the final six appropriations bills for fiscal 2024. Johnson had endorsed the package earlier in the week after a marathon round of negotiations between congressional leaders in Congress and the White House.

Johnson has claimed a number of victories for conservatives in the package, while acknowledging the nature of the divided powers in Washington meant Republicans were not able to secure everything they wanted.

That argument has fallen short with House conservatives, who are accusing the Speaker of giving away the store to the Democrats, with too little to show for his own party.

“This is the worst possible scenario for Republicans, and it signals to the entire country that Republicans are not in control of the House of Representatives, the Democrats are. And that instead of Mike Johnson and Republicans being in control of the Speaker, [Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer [D-N.Y.] is in control,” Greene told Bannon.

It’s unclear if Greene would find enough support to remove Johnson from power through a motion to vacate. That’s because a number of Democrats — who had voted unanimously in support of McCarthy’s removal — say they would help to rescue Johnson if he continues to cut bipartisan deals with Biden on issues like government funding and Ukraine aid.

Johnson has refused to consider a Senate-passed foreign aid package, which includes billions of dollars for Ukraine, but he is vowing to work on a House version of the legislation when Congress returns to Washington in the middle of next month after a long holiday recess.

“I do not support Speaker Johnson but I will never stand by and let MTG to take over the people’s House,” Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) wrote on X, formerly Twitter, amid news of Greene’s motion to vacate.

Updated at 12:49 p.m. EDT

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