Marjorie Taylor Green doubles down on attempt to oust Speaker Mike Johnson despite pushback

Washington DC - Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is aggressively defending a motion she recently filed to vacate House Speaker Mike Johnson, even as her Republican colleagues express doubts about her timing.

Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene recently doubled down on her effort to vacate Speaker Mike Johnson, but her colleagues are not on board.
Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene recently doubled down on her effort to vacate Speaker Mike Johnson, but her colleagues are not on board.  © Collage: ALEX WONG & Kevin Dietsch / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

On Sunday, MTG sat down for an interview with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo, who pressed the Georgia Republican about how members of her own party have been "attacking" her for the "wrecking ball" move.

"Republicans are fed up with it," Green argued. "Republican voters want fighters in the House of Representatives to fight like President [Donald Trump], and that is exactly what I'm doing."

Last Friday, moments before the House voted on a $1.2 trillion federal spending package, Greene submitted her motion, arguing the bill is "a Democrat wish list that continues the border invasion, funds the weaponized government, and breaks our own conference rules."

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As House Republicans hold a very slim majority, and with multiple members expected to step down in coming weeks, her move has been criticized for being poorly timed, and none of her colleagues have signed on to her motion.

When Bartiromo asked Greene about the thinning majority, she insisted that she wasn't at all to blame.

"Those people stepping down early and leaving, are the ones leaving us at risk of the Democrats controlling the majority, not me," she explained.

"I will force change," she added. "I’m not bringing chaos. I’m forcing change."

House Republicans express doubts about MTG's effort

Marjorie Taylor Greene speaking to reporters outside the US Capitol Building in Washington DC on March 22, 2024.
Marjorie Taylor Greene speaking to reporters outside the US Capitol Building in Washington DC on March 22, 2024.  © ALEX WONG / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP

Kevin McCarthy, Johnson's predecessor, suffered a similar fate last year when Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz led an effort to oust him, which succeeded with the support of only eight of his colleagues.

Gaetz's move caused chaos in the House, as Republicans struggled to vote in a new Speaker. They eventually settled on Johnson after three failed votes.

Many of MTG's colleagues and other prominent Republicans feel her motion couldn't have come at a worse time.

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New York Rep. Mike Lawler slammed the motion as "idiotic," adding that "it does nothing to advance the conservative movement."

Even Fox News host Emily Compagno was also not impressed with Greene's effort, describing it as an attempt to "steal the limelight".

"I feel we are seeing yet another tantrum by a tiny faction of that conference that is disrupting the entire machine that we just exhaustively waited for to get back on track," Compagno argued.

"Who would be better than [Johnson], MTG?" she added. "What is your plan!?"

Cover photo: Collage: ALEX WONG & Kevin Dietsch / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

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