Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene says she never promised further votes to oust Speaker Mike Johnson from his leadership post if lawmakers tabled her motion to vacate the chair.
Ms. Taylor Greene, Georgia Republican, standing next to Rep. Thomas Massie, Kentucky Republican, told reporters this when asked whether she planned additional motions to vacate the chair until she was successful.
“That’s not something that I’ve said. I think today has proven the uni-party is alive and well and the Democrats now control Speaker Johnson,” she said after the House voted to kill her motion on a 359-43 vote.
“That was something that everybody’s suspected all along,” she added. Democrats “just voted to save him. And I think that’s the message that is being told.”
Mr. Massie, who supported Ms. Greene‘s effort, previously told reporters that he did not see a need to try to vacate the chair again if their effort failed.
But he reserved the option to try again if Mr. Johnson supported other issues he found appalling, such as resettling refugees from the Middle East in the U.S. or pushing an omnibus spending package.
Former President Donald Trump weighed in Wednesday night on the attempt to oust Mr. Johnson, saying that Ms. Greene has “spirit” and “fight” and that he “absolutely loves” her. But he said Republicans must fight the “Radical Left” and are “not in a position of voting on a Motion to Vacate.”
