Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) filed a motion to remove House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) Friday, March 22. Rep. Greene made the motion as the House voted on the $1.2 trillion funding package to avert a shutdown, which was also the catalyst for this action. The spending bills then passed, gaining more Democrat votes than Republicans, which further angered conservatives.
“Today I filed a motion to vacate after Speaker Johnson has betrayed our conference and broken our rules,” Greene told reporters. “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, 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.”
Freedom Caucus Republicans – the same group that called for the removal of Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as speaker – had threatened to oust Johnson multiple times over his deals with President Joe Biden and Senate Democrats to secure government funding. Thus Rep. Greene’s motion, though she is no longer a member of the Freedom Caucus herself, seemed inevitable. And if enough support the move, the House will once again begin the process of selecting a speaker with a divided majority party.
