Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene files motion to oust Mike Johnson as House speaker
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene filed a motion to oust Mike Johnson as speaker, but stopped short of forcing a vote to remove him.
WASHINGTON — Far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Friday filed a motion to oust Speaker Mike Johnson, doing so just as the House voted to avoid a government shutdown.
Johnson, R-La., has served as speaker for five months, having taken over for Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted from the top job under a similar process.
It was not immediately clear how the House would act on her motion, which requires just a majority vote to remove the speaker. Greene, R-Ga., did not file the motion as privileged — which would force a vote within two legislative days — but instead as a regular motion, which could be referred to a committee, where it would likely languish.
Greene told reporters that her motion to vacate was “more of a warning than a pink slip,” saying she does not want to “throw the House into chaos,” like the three and a half weeks that the chamber was without a speaker when McCarthy, her close ally, was ousted.
“I’m not saying that it won’t happen in two weeks or it won’t happen in a month or who knows when. But I am saying the clock has started. It’s time for our conference to choose a new speaker,” she said.
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