Far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said Wednesday she will force a vote to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson “next week,” one day after House Democrats vowed to block her motion to vacate.
In a morning Capitol Hill press conference, Greene (R-Ga.) stood alongside Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) to declare that they would seek to remove the Republican leader for his “three betrayals” on conservative priorities.
“I think every member of Congress needs to take that vote, and let the chips fall where they may,” the Georgia congresswoman said.
“Next week, I am going to be calling a motion to vacate — absolutely calling it. I can’t wait to see Democrats go out and support a Republican speaker and have to go home to their primary and have to run for Congress again.”
“‘Have you supported a Republican conservative?'” she mocked. “I think that’ll play well.”
“This motion is wrong for the Republican conference, wrong for the institution and wrong for the country,” Johnson shot back in a statement.
A GOP official told The Post that RNC chairman Michael Whatley met Tuesday with the House Republican conference, speaking about the importance of “unity” and “expanding the majority in the House.”
Greene was not present at the meeting, but requested a sit down with Whatley “10 minutes” afterward, the official said.
At the meeting, Whatley reiterated that “party unity” was important to former President Donald Trump and that “infighting” could cost Republicans at the ballot box, the GOP official said.
But Greene pushed back, according to the official, arguing there was plenty of time before November to oust the speaker and that she had spoken to Trump earlier that afternoon.
It’s unclear what the 45th president and Greene discussed, but Trump has not publicly issued any statements advising the congresswoman to stand down.
Trump has, however, expressed support for Johnson, saying following an April 12 meeting between the pair at Mar-a-Lago that the Louisianan was doing a “very good job.”
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to questions about the nature of the discussion with Greene.
Asked Wednesday whether Trump’s apparent endorsement of Johnson gave her trepidation about removing the speaker, Greene replied, “Absolutely not.”
“I’m the biggest supporter of President Trump and that’s why I fight for his agenda every single day,” she said.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Democratic leaders announced Tuesday they would kill Greene’s motion to vacate if it reached the floor, citing Johnson’s support for a $95 billion foreign aid bill for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
Greene and Massie also noted the speaker’s flip-flop on reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows for warrantless collection of Americans’ data and communications to non-US persons abroad.
They further opposed more than $1.6 trillion in government spending bills — with Massie knocking the topline funding amount as having spent more than past appropriations legislation passed by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
Those bills were all signed into law by President Biden after passing the Senate under no opposition from Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
The Republican renegades dubbed Johnson (R-La.) the “Uniparty Speaker,” unveiling pictures at the presser of him embracing Jeffries (D-NY) as he took the gavel last October.
Greene even swapped out her usual bright red “MAGA” hat for a royal blue “MUGA” hat, criticizing Johnson for wanting to “Make the Uniparty Great Again.”
“I voted for Mike Johnson because his voting record before he became speaker was conservative,” Greene said during the press conference. “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 witch hunt against President Trump.”
“But once he became speaker, he has become a man that none of us recognize,” she added. “He passed three continuing resolutions and then he finally passed a two-part omnibus that fully funded Joe Biden’s agenda and the Democrat agenda.”
In an interview set to air tonight on NewsNation’s “The Hill,” Johnson took a swipe at Greene and said she was not “proving to be” a serious lawmaker.
“I’m not into personal attacks,” Greene told reporters, before Massie jumped in to defend his colleague.
“She’s the most serious representative up here,” he said. “She captured exactly what Republicans back home are thinking. They are tired of this.”