Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) have filed a “motion to vacate” in an effort to oust Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) from the role of Speaker of the House.
Greene and Massie held a joint press conference where they criticized Johnson for his actions as Speaker.
During the press conference, Greene said, in part,
“And I voted for Mike Johnson because his voting record before he became Speaker was conservative.
He voted against funding Ukraine. He was solidly pro-life. He voted to secure the border. He voted to fight against Democrats. Fight against the witchhunt against President Trump.
But once he became Speaker, he has become a man that none of us recognize.”
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Massie has been critical of Johnson in recent weeks for several votes that took place. The votes that took place had a majority of Democrats who joined a minority of Republicans in passing the legislation that Massie is critical of.
In particular, Massie criticized war funding for Ukraine, the recent renewal of the Foreign Intelligence and Surveillance Act, or FISA, and the omnibus bill passed containing a new headquarters for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He posted on X,
“Speaker Johnson enlisted a majority of Democrats to override a majority of Republicans so he could:
1) pass an omnibus that spends more than Pelosi did, including a new FBI building.
2) reauthorize warrantless spying on Americans
3) send $60 billion to Ukraine
Unforgivable.”
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Johnson’s response to the motion to vacate was short. He released a statement stating:
“This motion is wrong for the Republican conference, wrong for the institution, and wrong for the country.”
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Democrats recently said they would oppose Greene’s motion to vacate.
In a joint Democrat leadership statement released on Tuesday, they outlined their opposition to Green’s motion, stating in full:
“For months, House Republicans irresponsibly delayed critical security assistance to our democratic allies in Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific, while simultaneously blocking humanitarian assistance to civilians in harm’s way in places like Gaza, Haiti and the Sudan. Thanks to a bipartisan coalition of Democrats and Republicans, led by President Biden, we were finally able to meet the national security needs of the American people.
From the very beginning of this Congress, House Democrats have put people over politics and found bipartisan common ground with traditional Republicans in order to deliver real results. At the same time, House Democrats have aggressively pushed back against MAGA extremism. We will continue to do just that.
At this moment, upon completion of our national security work, the time has come to turn the page on this chapter of Pro-Putin Republican obstruction. We will vote to table Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Motion to Vacate the Chair. If she invokes the motion, it will not succeed.”
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Greene stated that the motion to vacate will take place sometime this week. She said she looks forward to Democrats voting to keep a Republican as Speaker.
Do you support or oppose Greene’s motion to vacate? Let us know in the comments below.
