Marjorie Taylor Greene blinks on Mike Johnson ouster campaign
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Weeks of threats to oust Johnson over Ukraine aid fizzled Saturday when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene left town without pulling the trigger.
Why it matters: Greene is still talking the talk, but momentum for an ouster effort against Speaker Mike Johnson that seemed certain now has no timeline and no new endorsers.
- Greene said she will "go home and hear from their constituents" before making her decision following weeks of threats to force a vote to oust him.
- "He needs to do the right thing and resign ... If he doesn't do so, he will be vacated," Greene said Sunday on Fox News.
- "When John Boehner was replaced, it wasn't by a motion to vacate on the floor" but rather his pre-announced resignation, said Rep. Thomas Massie, who joined Greene on the motion to vacate.
Zoom in: "I think it strengthens him — he showed strength," Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) told Axios about Johnson bringing the motion to the floor despite his party's opposition.
- "He's a real Reagan Republican. It reminds me of Reagan's handling of Gorbachev," said Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.).
The big picture: As his party's fourth choice for a speaker — after Kevin McCarthy, Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan — Johnson has repeatedly gone bipartisan.
- March 6: Johnson bypassed a conservative blockade to pass six spending bills with a bipartisan majority.
- March 22: Johnson passed $1.2 trillion in spending with less than half of the GOP on board.
- April 20: Johnson muscled through $60+ billion in Ukraine aid despite a majority of Republicans trying to block it on three different votes.
Between the lines: Opposition from conservatives has weakened Johnson's hand in negotiations, moderate House Republicans told Axios.
- "Truthfully they might prefer losing," one House Republican said of conservative hardliners.
- "[We] could have gotten the Democrats to fold on a variety of border policy changes. ... But in the end, we lost our leverage because we weren't negotiating as a majority," another House Republican told Axios.
What's next: House insiders expect Johnson to largely run out the clock until November, with lots of extra recess time.
