Democrats vow to back Speaker Johnson if Marjorie Taylor Greene triggers ouster
Fox News senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram reports on House Democrats vowing to stand by Speaker Mike Johnson if Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., pushes forward with efforts to remove him on 'Special Report.'
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., announced plans to trigger a vote on ousting Speaker Mike Johnson next week.
Greene was joined by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., at a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday. The pair blasted Johnson after House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-NY., released a joint statement with other Democratic leaders announcing they would save Johnson.
"We need leaders in the House of Representatives that are gonna get this done," Greene said, holding up a red "Make America Great Again" hat. "Not working for Hakeem Jeffries. Not working for Joe Biden, and not going to be twisted and lulled into continuing the disgusting practices of Washington, D.C."
"Mike Johnson is not capable, is not capable of that job. He has proven it over and over again. Now we have Hakeem Jeffries and the Democrats coming out and embracing Mike Johnson with a warm hug and a big wet, sloppy kiss," she said. "Next week, I am gonna be calling this motion to vacate."
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Speaker Mike Johnson is facing a motion to vacate
Johnson said in a statement after her announcement, "This motion is wrong for the Republican Conference, wrong for the institution, and wrong for the country."
Greene responded to accusations that her push would fuel more chaos for congressional Republicans by arguing that House Republicans would lose the majority in November if Johnson remained at the helm.
She also denied that she was defying former President Trump, who backed Johnson in comments on a radio show last week.
Placing the MAGA hat she brought to the press conference on her head, Greene said, "I'm the biggest supporter of President Trump and that's why I proudly wear this MAGA hat… And that's why I'm fighting here against my own Republican conference to fight harder against the Democrats."
The Georgia conservative filed a measure calling for a vote to oust Johnson, known as a motion to vacate the chair, roughly 40 days ago. Greene would have to declare her resolution as "privileged" on the House floor to force leaders to take it up within two legislative days, which she indicated she would do next week.
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Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massie announced they would move to force a vote on Johnson's ouster next week. (Getty Images)
Her push mostly fell flat within the House GOP, with even Johnson's critics showing little appetite to go through another three weeks of chaos and disorder that followed the ouster of ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., in early October last year.
Johnson got added backup on Tuesday when House Democratic leaders released a joint statement declaring they would block a House-wide vote on ousting Johnson by voting to table the measure. It's a procedural hurdle that takes place before the main vote which, if successful, would block the House from voting on the motion itself.
But it's not clear yet if their move would serve to hurt or help Johnson.
Massie would not give Fox News Digital a definitive answer when asked how many Republicans he anticipated voting to oust Johnson next week, but said House Democrats' statement would likely move more people against the speaker.
"I think it's a kinetic situation. And Hakeem and the entire Democrat leadership team endorsing Mike Johnson is going to cause a lot of people who weren't with us, to be with us," Massie said.
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Massie said Democrats' support for Johnson will likely move more Republicans to vote for ousting the speaker. (Getty Images)
Meanwhile, he and Greene used the Democrats' statement as a cudgel to prove Johnson was not as aligned with conservatives as he pledged to be when he won the gavel in late October.
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"I'm going to challenge my colleagues to think about it this weekend, because, as Marjorie Taylor Greene said, we're coming back and we're voting on this next week. Right. And you get to have the choice if you're a Republican, are you going to embrace Hakeem Jeffries like Mike Johnson has? Are you going to embrace the uniparty like Mike Johnson has?" Massie said.
"Look, you've got Hakeem Jeffries hugging Mike Johnson and helping him keep his majority or keep his seat. But the reality is, this isn't policy. This isn't like some criminal justice reform where the left and the right can agree. This is about who holds that gavel."
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