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Marjorie Taylor Greene files motion to oust Speaker Mike Johnson

Greene expressed frustration with Johnson for bringing a $1.2 trillion government funding bill to the House floor.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene
Posted at 12:21 PM, Mar 22, 2024

For a second time this term, a Republican has filed a motion to remove a GOP Speaker of the House. 

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene filed a motion to vacate on Friday, but stopped short of calling for an immediate vote, after expressing her frustration with Speaker Mike Johnson for bringing a $1.2 trillion government funding bill to the House floor. 

"This is not a Republican bill," Greene said before the vote took place on Friday. "This is a Chuck Schumer, Democrat-controlled bill."

The bill, which is over 1,000 pages, funds numerous departments, including Homeland Security, the Department of Defense and Health and Human Services. 

"This bill will absolutely destroy our majority and will tell every single one of our voters that this majority is a failure," Greene said. 

The House ended up passing the bill by a vote of 286 to 134. It still needs to pass in the Senate to avoid a partial government shutdown. 

Rep. Mike Johnson elected speaker of the House
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson

Rep. Mike Johnson elected speaker of the House

Johnson emerged as the favorite of House Republicans due to his ability to unify the most conservative members of his party and the moderates.

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With passage of the bill in the House, Johnson faces a similar fate as former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Rep. Matt Gaetz filed a motion to vacate last year after McCarthy agreed to a temporary bipartisan spending bill that kept the government open. Gaetz, like Greene, was upset about funding levels and where the money was being allocated. 

After McCarthy was ousted, several Republicans attempted to take his place, but they didn't receive enough support from their party to secure the job. 

After about three weeks without a speaker, Johnson received the backing of his party and was voted House Speaker.