Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), leader of the far-right Freedom Caucus, expressed his belief that now is not the appropriate time to engage in that particular action.
Those bipartisan agreements, which directly led to the downfall of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in October, are exactly what Greene is targeting. She has called on Johnson to resign and has vowed to remove him from power if he doesn’t.
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During an interview with Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” she confidently declared that Mike Johnson’s Speakership has come to an end.
“He should do the right thing by resigning and allowing us to proceed in an orderly manner. If he fails to do so, he will be forced out.”
However, Greene finds herself in a minority within the House GOP.
The GOP’s House majority has not only shrunk due to the expulsion of former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) and the resignation of five other Republicans, including McCarthy, but there is also no clear successor to Johnson. With November approaching, Republicans are hesitant to go through another period of turmoil like the one that followed McCarthy’s expulsion, when they had to hastily find a suitable replacement.
Support for Greene’s vacate proposal seemed ready to spike last week when Johnson considered the possibility of implementing a change in House rules to make it more difficult to remove a Speaker. Conservative representatives like Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) even threatened to join in.
Johnson decided against implementing the rule change and opted to maintain the existing requirement of a single-vote threshold for initiating a motion to vacate. As for Greene’s resolution, the public support for it has remained unchanged, with only three lawmakers openly endorsing it.
“I won’t support a motion to vacate right now because I believe it would likely result in Democrats taking control of the House,” Gaetz explained.
Fellow conservatives have responded with resistance, which has weakened Greene’s ability to remove Johnson. This suggests that it would only require a small number of Democrats, possibly even fewer, to prevent the Speaker from being ousted if a motion to vacate is brought up for a vote.
Several Democrats have openly stated that they would vote against Greene’s resolution to protect the Speaker. These Democrats had initially pledged their support on the condition that Johnson would hold votes to extend federal surveillance powers and offer more aid to Ukraine. Both of these measures were successfully passed with bipartisan support in recent days.
In February, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) expressed to The New York Times that there would be “a reasonable number” of Democrats who would come to the aid of Johnson. He recently reiterated that there haven’t been any changes in the numbers.
Jeffries confirmed to the press that his previous statement remains unchanged.
Adding another layer of complexity to Greene’s endeavor, President Trump recently welcomed Johnson to Mar-a-Lago and commended the Speaker for her exceptional performance since assuming her role.
“He’s doing an exceptional job despite the difficult circumstances,” praised Trump, shortly before Johnson revealed his plan to secure Ukraine aid.
Despite these challenges, Greene remains undeterred in expressing her opinions. In fact, she intensified her criticism of Johnson during a conversation with Steve Bannon, a former Trump adviser. Greene asserted that Republican voters feel a sense of betrayal by the Speaker’s endorsement of the new Ukraine aid and are eager for a fresh wave of leaders who will vigorously champion Trump’s “America First” agenda.
According to her, Mike Johnson, a Republican leader, has completely betrayed their trust and aligned himself with the Democrats. In a record-breaking turnaround, he has switched sides and joined the so-called “uni-party” in a matter of months.
Moderate Republicans are pushing back against the internal criticisms, expressing their support for Johnson and finding it hard to believe that a small group of dissatisfied conservatives can dictate his fate.
According to Representative Don Bacon (R-Neb.), he commended the individual for their adherence to their moral compass and doing what is right. He also emphasized that it is not appropriate for a small group of individuals to dictate the actions of the majority.
