When former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy was ousted and, after a lengthy battle, replaced by current Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Speaker Johnson made the right noises about being committed to pushing back against the Biden Administration, particularly on the border. However, with the new budget that came out recently, many see him as having betrayed the base. That betrayal led to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene filing a motion to vacate the Speaker’s chair, the same motion used to remove McCarthy. Though she has not yet pressed for a vote on it, it lays the groundwork for his potential removal in the future.
As background, the latest spending package, one which totals about $1.2 trillion in government spending, all of it discretionary, is opposed by many Republicans because of its provisions. Though it contains some funding for increasing the number of Border Patrol agents and beds for migrants in detention facilities, it also contains funding for the Ukrainians, which many Republicans now oppose, and is far from forcing the Biden Administration to defend the border strongly, which is what the base wanted out of it, or a shutdown instead of it.
Rep. MTG responded with a motion to vacate the Speaker’s chair, though because she did not press for a vote on it, it is more of a warning and shot across Speaker Johnson’s bow than a real attempt to remove him any time soon. Making a comment to that effect when speaking to reporters on the Capitol steps, MTG said, “I filed a motion to vacate today, but it’s more of a warning than a pink slip.”
Continuing, she added that she doesn’t want to throw the House into chaos, as occurred when Speaker McCarthy was removed, but that she thought it was appropriate to send Speaker Johnson a warning given how bad many think this spending package was. She said, “I do not wish to inflict pain on our conference and throw the House in chaos, but this is basically a warning.”
She then explained that she thinks the GOP needs to do some searching and find a better Speaker of the House, one who would stand firm and not give in to the left, particularly as the border lies undefended. She said, “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 and our Republican majority, instead of standing with the Democrats.”
Posting about the spending package on X, Rep. MTG said, “The “Republican-controlled” House just passed a $1.2 trillion spending bill that doesn’t secure our border, but funds full term abortion and trans ideology on our youth. I filed a Motion to Vacate because the House needs a Speaker who’s able to win for Republicans and our constituents.”
Watch MTG here:
A spokesperson for Speaker Johnson appeared to brush off Greene’s warning in comments to Axios, saying, “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.”
But, still, Johnson’s days as Speaker could be numbered. Rep. Tim Burchett, speaking to Axios, said that while he is currently a “no” on removing Johnson, he sees why Greene is furious with the Speaker and thinks she has “every reason to be.” And, speaking about the motion to vacate the Speaker’s chair, Burchett said, “Hopefully it sparks, at the very minimum, some conversations,” said Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.). “We need to go back into the room and set some parameters on what our expectations are for the rest of the year … I’m sure we’ll have some meetings.”
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