House Republicans are anxious about going back to Washington D.C. because they have to deal with Marjorie Taylor Greene, a far-right Rep., and her threat to remove House Speaker Mike Johnson due to his lack of transphobia.
Two weeks ago, Greene surprisingly filed a motion to remove Johnson from his position because he allowed the House to vote on a $1.2 trillion government funding bill today that included funding for “trans ideology,” as she put it. The bill, which mostly left out her and other far-right Republicans’ desired anti-LGBTQ+ provisions, passed the House on March 22 in a 286 -134 vote.
Now, she’s focused on Johnson’s promise to consider a bill that would provide funds for Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s military invasion. In February, the Senate passed a bill which would give $60 billion in new funds for Ukraine, $14 billion for Israel to attack Gaza, and also $9 billion for Gaza to cope with the humanitarian devestation of the U.S.-funded attack. Johnson must now either vote on that bill or come up with a different proposal to satisfy Greene and other far-right lawmakers.
Greene and her far-right colleagues have objected to funding Ukraine, stating that the U.S. must do more to secure its southern border against an “invasion” of Central and Southern American immigrants. Greene and her allies, like former President Donald Trump, have portrayed the immigrants as murderers and drug dealers of the deadly opiod fentanyl rather than as people fleeing poverty and violence in their home countries.
With a slim Republican majority in the House, Johnson will probably need to seek support from Democrat representatives, who generally back funding for Ukraine, to pass any funding bill. This has led Greene to continue her threats against Johnson. Over the break, she repeatedly criticized him on the social media platform X for allegedly supporting Democrats in assisting Ukraine and undocumented immigrant “illegals.”
“Who is Mike Johnson working for? It’s clearly not the American people,” she stated in an April 4 post. “Our Republican Speaker of the House is upsetting many of our members by relying on Democrats to pass major bills and working with Dems by giving them everything they want,” she wrote in an April 8 post.
“Do you see the difference between ‘Republican’ Speaker Johnson and [former] Democrat Speaker Nancy Pelosi? That’s right, there isn’t one!We need a new Speaker of the House!!” she wrote on April 5. She even complained about Johnson in an April 4 broadcast with anti-LGBTQ+ former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
She has yet to ask for the House to recognize her filing, worried that it could result in a Democratic Speaker if Republicans remain divided on who to choose as their next Speaker. Whenever the House formally recognizes Greene’s motion to vacate the speakership, the chamber will have two days to consider whether to take action on it.
In late 2023, Republican House members adopted a rule that allows them to easily oust their speaker if just one House member wants to. The rule was used to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) at the end of 2023 after he worked with Democrats to pass a budget bill, something Johnson is presently being accused of committingIt’s not clear who Republicans might select to take Johnson’s place, since Johnson was literally the fifth choice for Speaker.
With only seven months remaining until the general election in November, some Republicans are concerned that removing the Speaker will "further uncover the chronic disarray in the House Republican Conference and the difficulty it has had in governing." The Washington Post reported. The publication said GOP House members are "dreading" their return to the legislative chamber as a result.
Among the nervous Republicans is Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD). He called Greene’s plan “a terrible threat” for Johnson "who is honestly trying to figure out a way forward."
"There is a 100% chance that after the motion to vacate, we will be left with a speaker that is less conservative than Mike Johnson, and for people like me who want to secure conservative victories, that would be a tragedy," he told the Post. "It would be disruptive to our nation and it would set back the cause for those of us who are interested in reducing the size, scope and intrusion of government."
Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) also echoed similar worries. "You can’t let certain people who just don’t like this or that decision dictate the program," he told the aforementioned publication. "It certainly doesn’t give anybody a reason to continue [to vote for] House Republicans in the majority. It just continues to demonstrate that we can’t govern."
Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) also called Greene’s move a "mistake." "I consider Marjorie Taylor Greene to be my friend. She’s still my friend. But she just made a big mistake," he said, according to The Hill. "To think that one of our Republican colleagues would call for his ouster right now — it’s really, it’s abhorrent to me, and I oppose it."
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) said, "It’s not only idiotic, but it actually does not do anything to advance the conservative movement. And in fact, it undermines the country and our majority."
Rep. Greg Pence (R-IN) said, "This isn’t good for the party. When I go home, people are tuning out what’s going on in the House because of the lack of progress, the chaos that’s happening. And I’d like us to get together and work together. We’re moving in the wrong direction of getting together."
There is a procedural manuever, known as a "discharge petition," that Democrats can use to bring a funding bill to a floor vote without Johnson’s approval. Johnson could also try and negotiate with Democrats to tie Ukraine funding to border security or to fund Ukraine by axing other budget items valued by Democrats, like efforts to fight climate change. But either way, Johnson will be forced to deal contend with Greene.
In a statement, Johnson said he “respects Marjorie” and said that the two “have honest differences on strategy sometimes but share the same conservative beliefs.” Though the two were reportedly scheduled to speak last Friday, it’s unclear if they actually did.
