House Republicans looking to remove House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) from his position are split as to how to go about it.
Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Thomas Massie (R-KY), and Paul Gosar (R-AZ) are all in agreement to remove Johnson, mainly over his push for a new $95 billion foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. However, they are split as to how to go about it, with Greene favoring a quick approach and Massie favoring a slower approach.
Greene, the earliest advocate for removing Johnson, filed a motion to vacate the speakership weeks ago, and Politico speculates she could push it further by filing a privileged motion to vacate on Saturday. The move would push a vote after the House returns from recess.
Massie favors a more subtle approach — he told the outlet that their numbers will only grow, and that they only need to wait. He expects that once their ranks reach roughly a dozen, Johnson will resign.
“This is like a ratchet — the pressure will just keep building,” he said. “The speaker’s overdrawn on political capital. He’s gonna go bankrupt after this vote.”
Massie dismissed the possibility that Democrats could come to Johnson’s rescue, arguing that doing so would turn even more Republicans against him.
“Every Democrat who walks across the aisle to try to save the Republican speaker is going to cause two or three more Republicans to join the effort because, at that point, you’re … ceding control of the House of Representatives to a contingent of Democrats,” he said.
However, Johnson has vowed not to resign on his own. He dismissed the motion to vacate as “an absurd notion.”
Massie also holds the Trump card — former President Donald Trump backed away from his private criticism of Greene regarding her attempted removal of Johnson, instead adopting a more neutral approach.
“My understanding is that Donald Trump is mostly neutral on this,” Massie told the outlet. “And just a couple of days ago, when asked about this issue, former President Trump said, ‘We’ll see what happens.’”
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Gosar hasn’t explicitly stated his strategic preference.
Deliberation and voting on the $95 billion foreign aid bill will start on Saturday.