By FARNOUSH AMIRI (Associated Press)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mike Johnson’s job isn’t secure yet.
In a surprising display of unity in the often divided House, Democrats joined a majority of Republicans on Wednesday to protect the GOP speaker from an attempt by fellow Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to remove him from his position.
But although Democrats in the minority threw the Louisiana congressman a life raft by voting on his side, they made it clear they might not do so again. That means the threat for Johnson still remains as Greene and other lawmakers can at any time call up another motion to oust him.
The incident emphasizes the increasingly unstable situation for Johnson, who faces the same conservative forces that removed his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, but with an even smaller majority that has forced him to continuously depend on Democratic support to carry out the most basic functions of legislating. Republicans control the House by the narrowest of margins, 217-213.
Here’s what to know about how the House can remove a speaker and what’s ahead for Johnson:
WHAT IS A MOTION TO VACATE?
The current rules of the House allow any lawmaker — Democrat or Republican — to present a resolution declaring the speaker’s chair vacant. If the House approves the resolution, it has the effect of dismissing the speaker from office.
The “motion to vacate” has existed for most of congressional history. But it had never been used successfully until last October when a rebel group of Republicans joined with Democrats to remove McCarthy as speaker.
McCarthy’s removal came, in part, as the result of the concessions he was forced to make to win the speaker’s gavel in the first place. Among the concessions was agreeing that a motion to vacate could be triggered by a single member — the threshold that historically has been the norm, but that had been abandoned by Democrats in the majority.
Supporters of allowing a single lawmaker to file the motion said it promotes accountability, noting its long history in the House.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
At any point, a member of the House can introduce a privileged resolution — a designation that gives it priority over other measures — to declare the office of the speaker of the House of Representatives vacant.
Once the motion is introduced, the lawmaker sponsoring it can request a vote on the House floor. Such a request forces House leaders to take action within two legislative days.
But there are procedural motions that members of either party can make to slow or stop the process — and that’s exactly what happened when Greene called for a vote Wednesday on removing Johnson.
The No. 2 House Republican, Steve Scalise, immediately made a motion to “table” Greene’s resolution, which defeats it if successful. The vote to table was fast and overwhelming, with lawmakers voting 359-43 to defeat her effort and keep Johnson in the job.
WHO IS TRYING TO OUST JOHNSON AND WHY?
The speaker had fought for months to navigate an increasingly fractured Republican conference, which has — in effect — been operating in the majority in name only since January 2023.
Republicans unanimously selected Johnson last year to replace McCarthy after several candidates for the job failed to get enough support. His conservative views were welcomed by the most extreme members of his party who had accused McCarthy of being too moderate for years.
However, Greene, who became an ally of McCarthy towards the end of his time, has been doubtful of Johnson’s leadership from the start. While she criticized her fellow far-right colleagues for removing McCarthy, she had warned Johnson for months that she would try to remove him in a similar way if he were to proceed with a package to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion.
“He should not bring funding for Ukraine,” Greene had told reporters.
But Johnson did exactly that last month when he pushed a foreign aid package for Ukraine to the floor where it was overwhelmingly approved and signed into law.
Other Republicans, including Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who co-sponsored Greene’s resolution to oust him, also criticize Johnson.
COULD THERE BE ENOUGH VOTES TO OUST JOHNSON?
It remains to be seen, but the vote Wednesday showed Johnson’s job is far from secure.
Without Democratic help, Johnson could have easily been removed. Eleven Republicans voted in favor of Greene’s effort, more than the number of GOP votes it took to oust McCarthy last fall. Seven Democrats voted present and almost all others voted with Republicans to block the effort to oust him.
“Our decision to stop Marjorie Taylor Greene from causing more chaos in the country is based on our commitment to solve problems,” Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said after the vote.
Asked what they might do if there were another attempt to oust the speaker, Jeffries said, “Haven’t given it a thought.”
Some Republicans are frustrated by the threats to Johnson and were dismissive of Greene. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., said of those trying to remove the speaker, “They’re pretty good at getting attention, but they have not been recognized for their ability to get things done.”
He said if they keep pushing to oust the speaker, “I think you can expect more of the same: Failure.”
IF JOHNSON IS OUSTED, WHAT WOULD HAPPEN NEXT?
The speaker of the House, under the rules of the chamber, is required to keep a list of individuals who can act as speaker pro tempore in the event a chair is vacated. The list, which is oddly written by the sitting speaker at any given time, remains with the House clerk and would be made public if the speakership were vacant.
The first person on that list would be named speaker pro tempore and their first order of business would be to hold an election for a new speaker. The House then would vote as many times as it took to elect a speaker.
In the case of McCarthy, the role of speaker pro tempore fell to his close confidant Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., the chair of the House Financial Services Committee. He was in the role for three weeks, until Johnson’s election.
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