Marjorie Taylor Greene says outcome ‘up to Mike Johnson’ after threatening his removal
The Georgia Republican and speaker of the House met twice in 24 hours this week
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Marjorie Taylor Greene said on Tuesday the outcome of her call to oust Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is now in his hands.
This development comes after the speaker, Ms Greene and her ally Representative Thomas Massie met for some 90 minutes on Tuesday afternoon. They previously met on Monday for over an hour.
After the second meeting, Ms Greene told reporters the ball is in Mr Johnson’s court.
“We will see,” she told reporters. “It is up to Mike Johnson.”
The GOP duo want Mr Johnson to block future Ukraine aid. They also want him to defund Special Counsel Jack Smith’s probes into Donald Trump. Mr Smith is investigating the classified documents case and the 6 January riots. These asks are largely symbolic because the US Senate and President Joe Biden would likely block them.
Before Tuesday’s meeting, Ms Greene told The Independent the speaker has been “working with Democrats the entire time.”
“[The Democrats] are ready to deliver the votes to save his speakership, because they support him because of what he’s delivered for the Democrats and the Biden agenda,” Ms Greene told The Independent.
The bizarre feud between former allies Marjorie Taylor Greene and Mike Johnson, explained
Democrats say they’ll save Johnson from Marjorie Taylor Greene’s ouster attempt: ‘I’ll hold my nose’
Republican lawmaker doesn’t mince his words about Marjorie Taylor Greene: ‘She is a total waste of time’
Marjorie Taylor Greene says Republicans will need to choose ‘MAGA’ or ‘MUGA’ over Mike Johnson
Speaker Mike Johnson set to meet with Marjorie Taylor Greene momentarily
Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene is set to meet with Speaker Mike Johnson privately at 3:30pm, PBS NewsHour’s Lisa Desjardins reports.
Ms Greene vowed last week to force a vote to remove Mr Johnson from his role as Speaker of the House. If Ms Greene triggers a privileged motion, the House will be forced to vote within 48 hours.
Marjorie Taylor Greene now in Speaker’s office
Marjorie Taylor Greene entered Speaker Mike Johnson’s office just minutes ago, Punchbowl News reports.
She reportedly did not speak to reporters on her way in.
WATCH: Representative Nancy Mace condemns Marjorie Taylor Greene’s efforts to oust Speaker Johnson
MTG faces some GOP opposition to her ousting effort
Marjorie Taylor Greene is currently meeting with Speaker Mike Johnson after vowing to force a vote to oust him this week.
Amid these rising tensions, some GOP representatives and senators are pushing back against her call.
Representative Nancy Mace, a Republican from South Carolina, said Ms Greene won’t succeed.
“We need to get our act together and come together for the betterment of our country...I don’t know why she’s doing this because the votes aren’t there,” Ms Mace said of her colleague on Monday morning.
GOP Senator Thom Tillis called Ms Greene “uninformed” and “a waste of time” last month as she called to oust Mr Johnson.
Democratic leadership also said last week they would vote to save Mr Johnson.
Meeting with Greene, Johnson stretches past one hour mark
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and Speaker Mike Johnson have been in a private meeting for more than an hour, according to Fox News’ Chad Pergram.
The pair are meeting after Ms Greene vowed to force a vote to oust Mr Johnson this week.
ANALYSIS: Marjorie Taylor Greene’s exercise in vanity has failed — spectacularly
Tuesday should have been the perfect day for Marjorie Taylor Greene to trigger her motion to vacate. It had been more than a week since the House had voted on the foreign aid package that provided assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. That vote allowed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to blast isolationists in the Republican party and gloat at their diminished power. MTG was poised to bite back.
Instead, on Tuesday, Democrats threw House Speaker Mike Johnson a lifeline. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark and Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar all said they would join in a motion to table Greene’s motion, specifically citing the right-wing conspiracy theorist from Georgia as their reason for doing so.
Read more analysis from Eric Garcia, Washington, DC Bureau Chief for The Independent:
Marjorie Taylor Greene’s exercise in vanity just failed — spectacularly
Not even the people we might have expected to go with MTG seem to have the appetite to back her up this time
Marjorie Taylor Greene ends meeting
Marjorie Taylor Greene has ended her meeting with Speaker Mike Johnson.
The two plan to meet again tomorrow, she told reporters waiting outside the Speaker’s office.
ICYMI: What is ‘MUGA,’ and why is Marjorie Taylor Greene using the acronym?
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene says her fellow representatives will need to choose between “MAGA” or “MUGA” as her attempt to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson moves ahead.
On Wednesday, the right-wing Georgia firebrand, accompanied by fellow right-wing Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, said she will call a privileged motion next week that would trigger an automatic vote within 48 hours over Johnson’s removal.
Ms Greene and Mr Massie criticised Mr Johnson’s reliance on Democrats to pass everything from spending bills to reauthorisation of surveillance legislation and aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. They blasted work between Mr Johnson and Mr Jeffries as a culmination of the “uniparty.””
Ms Greene then brandished a hat that said “MUGA.”
“The uniparty is ‘Make Ukraine Great Again,’” she said. “The uniparty is about funding every single foreign war. They think this is the business model that needs to be done.”
Read more:
Marjorie Taylor Greene says she’ll trigger no-confidence vote on Johnson next week
House Speaker Mike Johnson says Greene’s move is ‘wrong for the Republican Conference, wrong for the institution, and wrong for the country’
Mike Johnson says he can ‘get everyone on the same page'
Speaker Mike Johnson told Fox News he thinks he can get “everyone on the same page” after meeting with Marjorie Taylor Greene on Monday afternoon.
Ms Greene told reporters the duo plans to meet on Tuesday as well.
Mr Johnson also told Fox News he spoke with former president Donald Trump today amid Ms Greene’s calls for his removal.
What is a motion to vacate?
Marjorie Taylor Greene plans to call a motion to vacate against Speaker Mike Johnson. If Ms Greene triggers a “privileged motion” on her motion to vacate, the House will be forced to vote within 48 hours on his removal.
Read more about how a motion to vacate works — and how the process was used to oust the last Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy:
What is a motion to vacate? The process Matt Gaetz triggered to oust Kevin McCarthy
House speaker challenged to no-confidence vote by the rebel congressman representing hard-right fringe of Republican party
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