Marjorie Taylor Greene isn't winning many converts to her cause of replacing House Speaker Mike Johnson, who offended the pro-Russia Republican by allowing a vote on aid for Ukraine. But that doesn't mean she isn't making life difficult for the GOP caucus and its tenuous grip on power.
At a press conference Wednesday, the Georgia Republican said she plans to force a vote next week on Johnson's leadership, accusing him of trying to "Make Ukraine Great Again" by not depriving it of American ammunition. She was joined by just one other colleague, Rep. Thomas Massie, a far-right lawmaker from Kentucky; another supporter of the leadership challenge, Rep. Paul Gosar, a far-right lawmaker from Arizona, did not attend.
Johnson has claimed support from former President Donald Trump, publicly dismissing Greene, an ally of deposed Speaker Kevin McCarthy, as fundamentally unserious. But as CBS News noted, three votes from disgruntled Republicans would be enough to throw the House of Representatives into turmoil, forcing Johnson to rely on support from Democrats to remain in power ("They will doom him if they try that," Massie told the outlet).
Most Republicans do think Johnson's days are numbered, The Washington Post reported Wednesday, his fate sealed by the vote on long-delayed assistance for Ukraine. Trump has bristled at long-term support for the victim of Russian aggression, which he previously accused of working to elect Democrats and refusing to investigate President Joe Biden. But most Republicans say they want to wait until after the 2024 election.
“People have ruled him out for any leadership position in the next Congress,” a senior Republican aide told the Post.
But even if most Republicans are confident that Democrats will spare them from another ugly leadership fight — Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has said he would block any motion to dismiss Johnson — the party remains concerned about the damage Greene could to do.
On Tuesday, RNC co-chair Michael Whatley met with the Georgia lawmaker to talk her down, stressing that "any disruption" would "not help the case for party unity" ahead of November, a GOP source told Politico.
Greene held her press conference, explicitly rejecting that request, less than 24 hours later.
