The ongoing dispute between Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is expected to escalate this week when the Georgia Republican seeks to bring about a vote on the GOP leader's removal — a move that is almost certain to fail.
Greene, who initiated a motion to vacate against Johnson in March, is determined to push for a vote on her resolution for his removal this week. This has been a long time coming for the GOP troublemaker, who has been dangling the ouster mechanism over the Speaker's head while sharply criticizing his legislative decisions at every opportunity.
However, her attempt is likely to be unsuccessful: A significant number of conservative Republicans have indicated their opposition to her efforts, with only two offering support. Additionally, the top three House Democrats have stated their intention to vote to disregard Greene's ouster attempt. Nevertheless, the Georgia Republican is steadfast in her determination to move forward.
“Mike Johnson must resign or be removed,” she stated. wrote on X on Friday.
The Senate is also expected to continue discussing a bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration this week. However, a short-term extension may be necessary as lawmakers race against time to meet the Friday deadline.
President Biden is scheduled to appear alongside Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) at the Capitol for an event honoring individuals killed in the Holocaust. The House is also set to consider a bill that would add a citizenship question to the bicentennial census.
Greene pledges to continue pursuing Johnson's ouster
Greene is committed to moving forward with her campaign to remove Johnson this week. Despite failing to garner support from GOP members and former President Trump, and facing opposition from Democrats, it is almost certain that the push will fail embarrassingly on the House floor.
These facts have been evident for days — conservatives have been expressing doubts about Greene’s efforts for weeks, and Democratic leadership confirmed last week that they would vote to disregard the Georgia Republican’s ouster measure if it came up for a vote.
Nevertheless, Greene and her two co-sponsors — Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) — are pressing ahead with the endeavor, aiming to compel Republicans to take a stance on their support for Johnson.
“This week we vote on whether Mike Johnson should remain as Speaker,” Massie declared Sunday. “If you’re content with what he’s done this year and looking forward to what he will do for the rest of the year, you should join the Democrat leader Hakeem Jeffries in backing Mike Johnson. #uniparty.” wrote on X Greene and Massie revealed last week that they intend to bring about a vote on their resolution this week, although it is not yet clear which day they will do so. The House resumes its session on Monday.
Once the Republicans move to bring about a vote on their resolution, House GOP leadership has two legislative days to act. It is expected that there will be a vote on a motion to disregard the measure, which will succeed with bipartisan support.
Johnson, on the other hand, has ignored the approaching danger to his position, describing it as a misguided move for the GOP and the whole country.
“I don’t worry too much about the motion to vacate,” he said on SiriusXM’s “The Laura Coates Show” Friday. “I think it’s not right for the Republican Party; I think it’s not right for the institution; I think it’s not right for the country. These are very serious times that we’re living in, and the American people need and deserve a functioning Congress and I think that is the prevailing factor here.”
In the lead up to Greene’s imminent move, conservatives have increased their criticism of Greene.
“She’s pretty much operating on her own, with one or two others who have expressed support for what she’s doing,” Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus who voted to remove former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in October, said on
NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday” in an interview. “She doesn’t lead anyone.” The ouster threat comes against the backdrop of November’s elections, which are less than six months away. Republicans of all stripes have urged GOP lawmakers to remain united in the lead-up to those contests, a message that the head of the Republican National Committee (RNC) re-upped as Greene promises to pursue her ouster effort.
“We need to flip the Senate, and we need to expand our majority in the House. We’re not going to do that if we’re not unified,” RNC Chairman Michael Whatley told NBC News in an interview. “We need to make sure that all of the Republicans understand the gravity of this election cycle, and they do, and we need to make sure that we are on the same page as we’re moving forward.”
Senate stares down FAA reauthorization deadline
The Senate is continuing consideration of a bill to reauthorize the FAA for five years this week, though a short-term extension may be needed as Congress stares down a Friday deadline.
Senate GOP Whip John Thune (S.D.) told reporters last week that a short-term extension may be necessary to avoid a lapse in the authority and wrap up the process for the full reauthorization bill, citing the large number of amendments senators have requested votes on and the short window for votes. The Senate is scheduled to reconvene on Tuesday, leaving just four days until Friday’s deadline.
“We’ll see,” Thune said when asked about the prospect of a short-term extension. “May 10 is just around the corner… my assumption is that if we’re gonna not have a lapse in the authority, they’ll probably need to be a short-term extension.”
He did not say how long that extension would last.
Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) — the top Republican on the Commerce Committee — however, said last week that he thinks the upper chamber can get the bill over the finish line with enough time to spare.
“I don’t think that will prove necessary,” he said of a short-term extension. “I think we’ll get it done next week.”
The FAA bill
cleared its first procedural hurdle in the Senate last week in an 89-10 vote. Senators, however, are trying to add some unrelated priorities into the legislation since it is the final must-pass measure Congress has to consider before the fall, a reality that is slowing down the consideration process. One thing that might be voted on is a change to the legislation that would remove the part about adding five slots, or 10 flights, at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).
Senators from Virginia and Maryland want to get rid of the added flights, saying that DCA already has a lot of traffic. Lawmakers from farther states support the extra flights, saying it would make travel more convenient.
Biden and House leaders will be at a Holocaust remembrance event
President Biden plans to go to Capitol Hill this week for a Holocaust remembrance event, appearing with Holocaust survivors, Johnson, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).
The event, known as the Holocaust Memorial Museum’s annual Days of Remembrance ceremony, is set for Tuesday at 11 am. Both Biden and Johnson are expected to speak.
Days of Remembrance is the U.S.’s annual event to honor the six million Jewish people who died in the Holocaust. The event also honors the American soldiers who fought against Nazism and acknowledges the U.S. Army divisions that freed concentration camps.
At the same time as pro-Palestinian protests are happening on college campuses across the country, a bunch of lawmakers are saying that the demonstrations are becoming antisemitic.
In December, the Anti-Defamation League reported that
over 2,000 antisemitic incidents had been reported in the U.S. since Oct. 7 — the day Hamas started its attack on Israel — which was a 337 percent increase compared to the previous year. Last week, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden will talk about our moral responsibility to fight rising antisemitism and the work of the Biden-Harris administration to carry out the first-ever National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism to ensure that 'never, never again' becomes a reality.
The House is planning to vote on a bill about adding a citizenship question to the census.
This week, the House will decide on a bill that calls for adding a citizenship question to the census.
The Equal Representation Act would make the Census Bureau add a question about citizenship to the 10-year survey and require that the U.S. use only citizens when deciding how many seats each state gets in Congress.
The legislation This is happening because the citizenship question was not on the 2020 census. The Trump administration wanted to add the question to the survey before
giving up in July 2019 when the Supreme Court stopped the idea. In April, the House Oversight Committee approved the bill with only votes from one party, 22-20.
Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.), who sponsored the bill, said in a statement in January when it was introduced, “The Equal Representation Act will make sure that American citizens – and American citizens only – are given fair and equal representation in their federal government.”
Al Weaver added to the contribution
The ongoing dispute between Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is expected to escalate this week as the Georgia Republican plans to push for a vote on the removal of the GOP leader. However, it is highly likely to be unsuccessful. Greene, who initiated a motion to remove Johnson in March, is….
