Marjorie Taylor Greene Files to Vacate House Speaker Johnson

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The Facts

  • US Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) filed a motion to remove House Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) from his position as House Speaker. She said this was a "warning" but that she wouldn't immediately bring the motion to a floor vote.

  • Her decision was in response to the House passing a $1.2T bill to fund large chunks of the government for the next year, which Greene called a "betrayal of the American people" and blamed Johnson for getting outplayed by Democrats.


The Spin

Republican narrative

While many on the right have correctly criticized the $1.2T funding bill, removing voting to vacate Mike Johnson is not the solution. With a razor-thin majority in the House, the GOP needed to pass something to ensure the government was funded and the party didn't fall apart. After seeing the chaos that followed Rep. Matt Gaetz's motion to remove Kevin McCarthy, the party cannot afford more turmoil ahead of an already uphill battle in the 2024 election.

Conservative narrative

Mike Johnson has already abandoned his constituents to work alongside the Democrats, so what's the point in worrying about how this motion could impact future House leadership? The $1.2T bill, which Americans on both sides were against, proves Johnson doesn't care about representing the will of the people. Removing a problematic politician from power isn't what's hurting the country — his being in power is.


Metaculus Prediction


Political split

LEFT

RIGHT

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