The House has voted to “kill” the resolution to remove House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) from his speakership after Rep. Marjorie a Taylor Greene forced a vote to oust him over his support for the controversial Ukraine aid bill.
Greene called on a resolution to vacate Johnson from his Speakership on Wednesday, which began the clock to remove him after he sided with Democrats in sending billions of additional U.S. dollars to Ukraine amid its ongoing war with Russia.
However, his gavel was saved after a group of Democrats refused to vote for Greene’s resolution, meaning he will keep his job.
Greene’s motion was blocked after House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) moved to table the resolution, passing with an overwhelming majority.
Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Paul Gosar (R-AZ) were among the GOP lawmakers who backed Greene's resolution.
Johnson would have been the second House Speaker to be ousted this Congress— following Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).
During the last vote series of the week, Greene announced that she was filing a privileged motion to vacate the speaker's chair. However, it was followed by a growth of boos on the House floor.
“This is the uni party for the American people watching," she said.
Greene introduced her resolution on Wednesday evening after two days of closed-door conversations this week with Johnson. Republican hardliners brought the motion after Johnson passed a $95 billion aid package that included military, humanitarian, and economic assistance to Ukraine. Democrats largely praised the move and said they didn't want to punish Johnson for doing the right thing and working across the aisle. Another key factor Democrats cited: They view Johnson as a more honest broker than McCarthy, who they unanimously voted to oust last fall. Via Axios.
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House Republicans were seemingly caught off guard by Greene’s forced vote to vacate Johnson. GOP lawmakers reportedly said that after two “productive” meetings between Johnson and Greene, further steps would have been taken before she took action.
“I was shocked," Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA) told CNN.
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