After the U.S. House of Representatives passed a funding package to avert a government shutdown in a bipartisan 286-134 vote on Friday, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) introduced a motion to vacate the chair — the vehicle by which members of the House can remove the speaker and which was used by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) to boot Kevin McCarthy in October 2023 — in order to strip Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) of the gavel.
MINIBUS PASSES AS MTG FILES MOTION TO KICK JOHNSON OUT
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) March 22, 2024
286-134
112 RS AGAINST
23 DEMS AGAINST
JEFFRIES BAILS OUT JOHNSON ONCE AGAIN.....
MTG filed a motion to vacate the Speaker - currently not privileged which means it is a threat only in its current form.
— Aishah Hasnie (@aishahhasnie) March 22, 2024
The formal move comes after MTG warned in an interview this week that passing the "minibus" funding bill "will be the fall of Mike Johnson."
Previously, Rep. Greene aired her concerns about the bill in a speech on the House floor. "This bill will absolutely destroy our majority," she warned her colleagues during debate on the legislation.
No Republican in good conscience can vote for the uniparty minibus.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) March 22, 2024
This is not a Republican bill. It is a Chuck Schumer, Democrat-controlled bill coming from the “Republican-controlled” House.
The Speaker of the House should not bring it to the floor. pic.twitter.com/EGosNo5Sz7
After filing the motion, here's what Greene had to say on the steps of the U.S. Capitol:
CNN: "Is this the fight you wanna have in an election year?"@RepMTG: "Absolutely...Because dammit! I wanna win that House. I wanna win the White House! I wanna win the Senate! And I wanna restore this country back to greatness!" pic.twitter.com/qN0lZbDFQT
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 22, 2024
When asked about a motion to vacate previously, Greene had suggested Johnson shouldn't be removed without a successor lined up to hopefully avert the chaos that saw legislative activity in the lower chamber grind to a halt following McCarthy's ouster.
When I asked Rep. MTG previously about using the MTV previously, she indicated that unlike the ouster effort used against McCarthy, it shouldn’t be used without some sort of plan in place so another three week speakership battle - that stop floor action - doesn’t ensue
— Olivia Beavers (@Olivia_Beavers) March 22, 2024
Some House Republicans reacted to the news with a bit more levity:
“I sure hope nobody vacates the Speaker again.”
— Rep. Mike Collins (@RepMikeCollins) March 22, 2024
MTG: pic.twitter.com/IzJ2qmw6de
This is a developing story and may be updated.