The House of Representatives swiftly thwarted Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s attempt to remove Speaker Mike Johnson from his leadership position. With Democrats joining forces, the resounding vote in favor of Johnson put an end to what was considered the most serious challenge to his speakership.
Navigating through a razor-thin majority, Johnson now finds himself with an opportunity to redirect focus towards other pressing issues, albeit amidst potential criticism from within his own party’s ranks due to the support from Democrats.
Following the decisive vote, Johnson addressed reporters briefly, labeling Greene’s campaign against him as “misguided” and expressing gratitude for the display of confidence from his colleagues.
“I appreciate the show of confidence from my colleagues to defeat this misguided effort,” Johnson stated. “I intend to do what I believe to be the right thing, which I was elected to do. And I’ll let the chips fall where they may.”
Greene had been hinting at the possibility of triggering a vote against the speaker for weeks, reigniting internal divides within the House GOP conference.
Decisive vote of the House
The House voted decisively to table Greene’s motion to remove Johnson, with only a fraction of Republicans voting against it. The move to support Johnson came after House Democratic leadership announced their intention to assist in keeping him in his position by voting to table the motion.
Earlier in the week, Greene, Johnson, and Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky engaged in discussions where Greene outlined her grievances with Johnson’s leadership and her priorities. The unexpected decision by Greene to trigger her motion caught House Republicans off guard, as they had anticipated more time following what were believed to be productive meetings between Johnson and Greene.
“I was shocked,” remarked GOP Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia, reflecting the surprise and uncertainty that ensued within the Republican ranks following Greene’s move.
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