WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is having trouble finding allies. pushed to oust Speaker Mike Johnson after putting Funding for the Ukrainian votemany hard-right Republicans said they opposed his bid after a weeklong recess.
“I am opposed to the discharge proposal at this time,” said R-Fla., who led the “discharge motion” that ousted Kevin McCarthy as speaker and criticized R-La Johnson.
“I think it’s almost not going to happen. We’re in a very slim majority,” added Anna Paulina Luna, another Florida Republican who has been highly critical of Johnson but worried that Democrats could gain a majority. after another chaotic coup.
“I don’t support what he did; he went back on his promise to us,” he said of Johnson. “But I’m not going to risk giving a Democrat a gavel.”
Gaetz and Luna were not alone. Many conservative lawmakers, who recently condemned the spending and foreign aid package that Johnson blessed, said they were not ready to push Greene to oust Johnson when the House returned from a weeklong recess. They cited a number of reasons: They worry it will disrupt GOP unity in the run-up to the election, they fear there is no better replacement, they believe it will fail because of a shrinking majority, and some say the timing is not right. .
“I don’t hear a lot of critical mass for it,” he said. Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., said he doesn’t expect the act to come to the floor. “I don’t hear any banging.”
Asked whether, like McCarthy, he would vote to remove Johnson from office, Biggs told reporters Monday: “I’m not going to respond to speculation. That’s what I’m saying: it’s not the time. Although I am very disappointed, disappointed and displeased, this is not the time.”
He echoed Luna’s concern that the House could end up electing a Democrat speaker because Republicans are on the verge of a “majority” and could be in the minority that day if “one person is sick.”
Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., said the proposal would fail if it came up.
“I’ve left the door open, but I don’t think it’s a good time. Second, if it was introduced, I don’t think it would pass,” he said. “I think the Democrats will keep Speaker Johnson. I think they will save him. So I don’t think it will pass. Moreover, even if he passes, I do not believe that we will get a more conservative speaker for the American people at the conference.
Crane said he doesn’t expect it to come to a vote, though he hasn’t heard it directly from Greene. “It’s a little rumor mill,” he said. “I haven’t talked to Marjorie about it.”
Rep. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said he was deeply disappointed by the speaker’s actions. “You just financed Ukraine. You just financed Israel. You just funded Hamas while funding Israel,” he said, referring to humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza. “You just funded a massive $1.7 trillion government spending spree. You’ve given up all the leverage you have to deal with the border. Now we have to work on convincing people to vote for us so that we can do better next year.”
Still, Roy said he’s more focused on upcoming issues like the passage of the farm bill and the next round of government funding in October.
“We have been at home, we have talked with voters. “My constituents fully agree with my concerns and, frankly, they’re angry about it,” Roy said. “They also want us to unite and defeat the Democrats. So we have to do these two things. I think we can unite and defeat the Democrats with a clear agenda. I think we should focus on that right now.”
Republicans in competitive districts want to put an end to the issue and focus on the upcoming elections.
“If it’s real, it’s ridiculous, it’s absurd, and it undermines the institution and our work. If it’s a bluff, it’s a terrible abuse and a waste of time,” said Rep. Marc Molinaro, R-RN.Y. “And by all means, put him to bed. Let’s continue.”
Meanwhile, the top three House Democrats, led by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. extraordinary joint statement “It’s time to turn the page on this chapter of pro-Putin Republican obstructionism,” Greene said Tuesday, pledging to vote to save Johnson if he makes his bid.
“We will vote on MP Marjorie Taylor Greene’s motion to remove the chairman. If he files a petition, he will not succeed.”
Greene missed the vote on Monday, evading a group of reporters searching for him, and his office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Democratic statement. But he didn’t risk taking Johnson off the table.
“Johnson will do whatever Biden/Schumer wants to keep the speaker’s gavel, but he has completely sold out the Republican voters who gave us the majority,” Greene said. He wrote in X.
“His days as speaker are numbered,” he continued.
Only two conservative colleagues — Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky. and Paul Gosar, R-Ariz. – was the sponsor of his resolution. But neither gave a clear answer as to whether a blank vote would take place soon.
“My understanding is that the Democrats are going to protect him, so we’re going to play the psychological game,” Gosar told NBC News, adding that Johnson’s future: “The seeds have been sown.”
Massie also had no update when asked when or if it would come up.
“We’re not going to talk about it right now,” he said, adding that he had spoken to voters and “I didn’t get hit.”
But Massie maintained that Johnson should go.
“If he’s going to share a majority with the Democrats, he’s not inspiring anyone to give us a majority,” he said, accusing Johnson of using “weapons of mass distraction” from his policies, such as a trip to Columbia to punish campus protests.
Trump’s lukewarm support for Johnson is revealing, Massie said.
“Sometimes you can kind of destroy someone by giving them weak praise. And I didn’t see a full defense of Mike Johnson, because after all, Trump doesn’t like a loser. And he’s, I think he’s worried about Mike Johnson and he’s tying his future to that. And even campaigning with him would be a bad move,” the Kentucky Republican said.
“Mike Johnson will only bring Trump down.”