WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – This week could see another GOP attempt to force a sitting House speaker out of his job, but will Democrats step in this time to save Mike Johnson from members of his own party?
Whether or not Speaker Johnson survives the expected vote it will present a major test of his leadership.
“Mike Johnson is not capable of that job. He has proven it over and over again,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.).
Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene says this week she’ll call for a motion to vacate potentially forcing Johnson from his job as Speaker of the House.
“We are holding him accountable. We didn’t vote for him to be speaker for the Democrats and that’s what he is,” Greene said.
Greene and a handful of others in the party are unhappy Speaker Johnson brokered deals with Democrats, in particular over military funding for Ukraine.
“I don’t want to predict what she will or won’t do. She’s pretty much operating on her own with one or two others who have expressed support for what she’s doing,” said Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.).
Given House rules Greene has the power to force a vote on Johnson’s future even as Democrats say they’ll step in to kill that effort, but only once.
“We’ve made clear that this is a vote of conscience,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Already some pro-Johnson Republicans say they want to avoid the kind of circus that happened when the party forced out former Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
“Descending into chaos and closing the House down and vacating the chair again is exactly the opposite of what needs to happen,” said Johnson.
The majority of Republicans say they stand with the speaker.
“I want to say I think Speaker Johnston is doing an outstanding job. I agree with President Trump on that,” said Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.).
Greene hasn’t said when she’ll introduce that motion other than promising it will be sometime this week.