The House on Wednesday afternoon quickly dispensed with Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s motion to oust Speaker Mike Johnson.
After a couple days of discussions with Johnson, Greene moved late Wednesday to force a vote on a motion she had filed in late March seeking Johnson’s removal. Her call, which reportedly caught Republican leaders off guard, was met with loud boos and jeers from her colleagues on the House floor.
House leaders technically had two days to schedule a vote on Johnson’s future, but they didn’t wait and instead moved immediately to table, or kill, Greene’s motion.
The 359-43 vote saw 196 Republicans joined by 163 Democrats in saving Johnson’s job. Just 11 Republicans and 32 Democrats voted against killing the motion, while seven Democrats voted “present.”
After the vote, Johnson called Greene’s effort a distraction. He emphasized that the speaker “serves the whole House” and that the country needs a functioning Congress. “Hopefully this is the end of the personality politics and the frivolous character assassination that has defined the 118th Congress,” he said. “It’s regrettable, it’s not who we are as Americans and we’re better than this.”
Greene brought her motion after the House had cast what was supposed to be one of its final votes for the week, passing a one-week extension of Federal Aviation Administration programs set to expire on Friday. She also moved ahead even though former President Donald Trump had urged against it, including in a social media post on Wednesday.
“With a Majority of One, shortly growing to three or four, we’re not in a position of voting on a Motion to Vacate. At some point, we may very well be, but this is not the time,” he wrote, urging party unity while also writing that he loves Greene. Trump added: “Mike Johnson is a good man who is trying very hard. I also wish certain things were done over the last period of two months, but we will get them done, together. It is my request that Republicans vote for ‘THE MOTION TO TABLE.’”
What’s next: Earlier in the day, House Republican leaders canceled votes on Thursday, meaning that lawmakers could depart for the week after Wednesday’s business was completed. Congress doesn’t have all that much pressing legislative business right now. As The Washington Post noted this morning: “There’s not much left to do before the election, anyway. Other than the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill, which is being debated in the Senate, all of the must-pass bills have been completed or are likely to be punted until after the election.”
But Greene’s motion illustrates just how GOP infighting and political intrigue could continue as election season heats up. Only 180 days to go!
