Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Friday pushed to boot House Speaker Mike Johnson the same way his predecessor lost his job. It comes down to Mr. Johnson‘s handling of the spending fight and southern border security.
Ms. Greene, Georgia Republican, filed a motion to vacate against the speaker in the middle of the House’s vote on a colossal, $1.2 trillion funding package to keep the government open.
“This is not a Republican bill,” she posted on X. “It is a Chuck Schumer, Democrat-controlled bill coming from the ‘Republican-controlled’ House. The speaker of the House should not bring it to the floor.”
The bill ultimately passed, despite calls from Ms. Greene and other Republicans to reject it for its lack of strong border security measures.
The move echoes one done by Rep. Matt Gaetz, Florida Republican, in October when he and seven other Republicans ousted former Speaker Kevin McCarthy for his handling of spending and what they called broken promises.
Mr. McCarthy’s ouster sent the House into a spiral for nearly a month, culminating in the selection of Mr. Johnson, Louisiana Republican, as his replacement.
Republicans contended they were unified in that moment, but the unity quickly melted away as in-fighting ran rampant, halting the spending process and keeping the House in a holding pattern for much of the past six months.