House Speaker Mike Johnson Survives Vote To Oust Him From Leadership

May 8, 2024 10:45 pm

The House overwhelmingly voted to kill a move by Republican hard-liners aimed at removing Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), saving an unlikely leader of an unruly House six months after GOP lawmakers moved to oust his predecessor.

Only 11 Republicans opposed the move to “table” a measure by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), while 196 Republicans embraced keeping Johnson in the speaker’s job. Democrats also overwhelmingly voted to save the GOP speaker, 163 in support of keeping him and 32 against. The overall vote was 359-43, with seven Democratic lawmakers voting present.

All 11 Republicans who supported Greene’s push to consider ousting Johnson were members of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, while all Democrats who voted in opposition of Johnson’s leadership or voted present were liberals.

Johnson expressed appreciation for lawmakers’ overwhelming “show of confidence to defeat this misguided effort.”

“Hopefully, this is the end of the personality politics and the frivolous character assassination that has defined the 118th Congress,” Johnson said. “It’s regrettable, it’s not who we are as Americans, and we’re better than this. We need to get beyond it.”

The vast majority of House Republicans sided with Johnson, despite the fact that his right flank is infuriated by his work to pass crucial legislation with Democratic votes. More government-minded Republicans, however, are tired of the constant drama and loss of focus on retaining the GOP majority in November. Johnson points out that it is difficult governing in a House where Republicans have a slender majority and must work with a Democratic-led Senate and White House.

After threatening to do so for months, Greene officially filed her motion Wednesday, prompting boos from fellow Republicans and moves to immediately derail the effort. In response, Greene said, “This is the uniparty for the American people watching.”

Johnson continued to mingle with Republicans, shaking hands and cracking smiles after the House overwhelmingly saved him from being ousted. After the vote series ended Wednesday, Johnson briefly met with Greene on the House floor.

A remarkable number of House Republicans joined with Democrats to rescue the speaker, who has been in the job for a little over six months. Johnson earned grudging respect from more traditional Republicans for ensuring that the government didn’t run out of funding and sending aid to U.S. allies Israel and Ukraine, but he only did so with Democratic support, infuriating members such as Greene.

Johnson has also been emboldened by the backing of former president Donald Trump, who reiterated his support for the Louisiana Republican over the weekend.

In a message posted on Truth Social right after the vote, Trump lauded Johnson as “a good man who is trying very hard.” He argued that with a House “Majority of One,” Republicans “have to be fighting the Radical Left Democrats, and all the Damage they have done to our Country” because otherwise their infighting will be portrayed as “CHAOS” and “negatively affect everything.”

“We’re not in a position of voting on a Motion to Vacate. At some point, we may very well be, but this is not the time,” Trump said, while praising Greene as someone with “Spirit” and “Fight.”

Greene said she was “thankful for President Trump’s support” even though his statement against the motion to vacate “unfortunately” came after the vote occurred. She was mum when pressed repeatedly on whether she would file such a motion in the future, pointing out that Trump did not rule out supporting it.

“I think it’s important for us to pursue our Republican agenda. Our Republican agenda is what our Republican colleagues should be supporting, not the Democrat agenda,” Greene said.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) would not say after the vote whether Democrats would come to Johnson’s rescue if Greene or another Republican would move to oust him again, but he repeated that the caucus would “continue to solve problems for everyday Americans to put people over politics, as we once again did today.”

Johnson has evolved in the speaker’s job over his short tenure, and he declared this week that he intended to continue governing House Republicans past the 2024 elections.

“I intend to lead this conference in the future,” Johnson said Tuesday. “We have plans for the next Congress, and we’ve been outlining a lot of that.

The tide in Greene’s battle to oust Johnson probably turned when House Democratic leadership announced that they would support defeating Greene’s effort. Even though some Democratic lawmakers dissented, Jeffries and his lieutenants argued that Johnson had delivered on Ukraine aid and that Democrats should be focused on looking like the adults in the room capable of governing.

After the House clerk read Greene’s motion Wednesday afternoon, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) officially moved to kill it. The chamber overwhelmingly yelled “yea” in almost unanimous agreement, while Greene and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) were the only two heard saying “nay.” The chamber erupted in laughter.

Johnson was on the House floor as Greene moved against him. He stood alongside his chief of staff and mingled with members. Scalise looked serious and contemplative over the gravity of the moment.

Greene’s motion comes days after she and Massie met repeatedly with Johnson to outline demands for him to accept, or face a vote against his speakership. Greene and Massie sat together in the chamber, and along with Rep. Paul A. Gosar (R-Ariz.) are the only publicly declared lawmakers who want to eject Johnson.

The pair of hard-liners demanded that Johnson no longer send aid to Ukraine this year; only put bills on the floor that a majority of Republicans agree with; move to defund any Justice Department investigation into Trump; and pass a dozen individual spending bills or institute a 1 percent cut across government agencies.

Johnson denied negotiating with the pair after House Republicans expressed fears that he would be cutting deals in a manner similar to what eventually led to the ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) last October. Greene and Massie met with Johnson again Tuesday in hopes that the speaker would give them an answer.

Johnson’s response never came. Sources familiar with the speaker’s thinking said Johnson was not going to publicly announce his position under the circumstances.

His lack of response sparked Greene’s decision to introduce her motion under special rules Wednesday afternoon. She was immediately greeted with “boos” from fellow House Republican colleagues.

Greene has become the second Republican over the past year to introduce a motion to topple their party’s speaker under special rules that force the House to take up the measure in 48 hours. But unlike the successful ouster of McCarthy, which was spearheaded by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), this time Democrats had pledged to maintain order in the House by keeping Johnson as speaker.

Greene had threatened to move against the speaker since earlier this year. She filed her motion in March after Johnson relied on Democrats to fund the government multiple times since taking the top job more than six months ago. It wasn’t until after a majority of Republicans opposed Johnson’s plan to send $61 billion in new funds for Ukraine that Greene pledged to act.