Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) filed a motion to vacate, seeking to boot House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and setting forth another chaotic process of determining who will lead the lower chamber. Who would want this job at this point? Many criticisms could be lobbed at Johnson during his tenure as speaker, which hasn’t been all that dissimilar from Kevin McCarthy, but who else could do better? It’s hard to do anything major when House Republicans are about to have a one-seat majority. Democrats know it.
I like Greene as the GOP’s bomb thrower, but she should’ve never pulled the pin on this one. Even Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who led the effort to oust McCarthy, cannot guarantee that there will be no Democrat speaker should this motion come to the floor (via Salon):
Greene did not file the motion as privileged, which would force a vote within two days, but could notice it as privileged after the House returns from a two-week recess on April 9. Greene said she filed the motion because Johnson forced a vote on multiple continuing resolutions and funding bills to keep the government running.
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Johnson was elected speaker after former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was ousted by a far-right group led by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla. But Gaetz said he would not support Greene’s motion.
“If we vacated this speaker, we’d end up with a Democrat. When I vacated the last one, I made a promise to the country that we would not end up with the Democrat speaker. And I was right. I couldn’t make that promise again,” he told reporters.
“We’d have Republicans cross over. I worry that we’ve got Republicans who would vote for Hakeem Jeffries at this point,” he added. “I really do. I take no joy in saying that. But you can only vacate the speaker if you know that the party leadership won’t change hands. I knew that with certainty last time. I don’t know it with certainty this time.”
When Gaetz, also known for throwing haymakers, doesn’t get behind something, you know it’s a bad idea. You can tell there’s no plan. Any Republican would be smart to avoid this path at all costs, especially since you know no one wants the job. Mike Johnson had to be essentially dragooned after days of candidate searching on the House GOP side. The first speaker's ousting was ugly. The second could lead to a Democrat taking the gavel.
*Yeah, I can't believe Salon had a story about this, but a broken clock is right twice a day. However, it was not nearly as shocking as when the site published a piece from a Bernie Sanders supporter who said the media was twisting Trump's remarks about Mexicans and illegal alien crime.