Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene initiated a vote to remove House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday. However, her motion was quickly rejected by a majority of Democrats and nearly all Republicans.
Lawmakers in the chamber booed loudly as Greene spoke for a long time about her complaints with Johnson and asked for a vote. The congresswoman from Georgia, along with co-sponsor GOP Rep. Thomas Massie from Kentucky, stated that Johnson had not fulfilled any of the promises he made to the Republican conference after being elected to the top post in October.
“According to Greene, Republican Speaker Mike Johnson has helped the Democrats and the Biden administration in destroying our country by supporting the Democrats’ agenda and limiting the Republicans’ ability to influence legislation.”
Johnson and his leadership team were present on the House floor while Greene read her resolution.
The House quickly decided to vote on a motion to table, which means to effectively kill, Greene’s effort to remove Johnson. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise stood up to ask for a vote on setting aside Greene’s resolution. The vote passed with support from both Democrats and Republicans.
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The final vote to reject Greene’s proposal was 359-43 with seven lawmakers abstaining from voting. Lawmakers were happy and applauded when the final count was announced. Eleven Republicans and 32 Democrats voted against ending Greene’s motion.
Johnson made a lighthearted comment to reporters after the vote, saying that it was just a typical Wednesday on Capitol Hill. The person speaking described Greene’s resolution as a “misguided effort” and expressed gratitude to their colleagues for supporting them.
“I hope that the 118th Congress will no longer focus on personal attacks and character assassination.” That’s unfortunate. We, as Americans, do not behave in this manner and we have the ability to be better than this. “We need to move past it,” Johnson said.
After the vote, Greene spoke to ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott and said that she was not surprised by the vote against her motion to remove the speaker from their position. “I believe this is exactly what the American people needed to see,” she said.
“I didn’t run for Congress to join the uni-party up here, and today the uni-party was clearly visible,” she added. “In fact, the Republican Party showed that they are willing to work together with the Democrats.”
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House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries explained that his party’s choice to support Johnson’s job was intended to bring back common sense and reduce chaos in Washington.
“We decided to prevent Marjorie Taylor Greene from causing more chaos in the House of Representatives and the country because we are dedicated to solving problems for everyday Americans in a bipartisan way,” explained the congressman from New York to reporters. “Washington, D.C. needs more practical thinking and less confusion.” Marjorie Taylor Greene and other very conservative Republicans who strongly support former President Trump are seen as causing chaos.
When asked multiple times if Democrats would vote to save Johnson again if more attempts to remove him are made, or if Democrats would require Johnson to make concessions in the future, Jeffries responded by saying “the vote clearly speaks for itself.”
“It was a decision based on personal beliefs and values. I felt very overwhelmed. It was clear and made a final decision. “We need to move forward as a Congress,” he added. When asked if she plans to try to kick out Johnson again, Greene did not answer.
Former President Donald Trump, who has supported Johnson in his conflict with Greene, stated on Truth Social that it is not the right time to propose removing someone from their position.
“If we appear divided, it will be seen as chaos and have a negative impact on everything!” Mike Johnson is a kind person who is putting in a lot of effort. “I also wish that certain things had been done in the last two months, but we will work together to get them done,” he said. However, Greene expressed gratitude for the support she received from Trump.
Greene’s move On Wednesday, there was a sudden change in tactics after she seemed to be stepping back from her threat that had been going on for weeks. This change came after she had meetings with Johnson on Monday and Tuesday.
During the time between meetings, she gave Johnson a list of things she wanted him to do. Some of the things on the list were to stop giving aid to Ukraine and to stop funding special counsel Jack Smith’s office.
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