Democrats make no promises about bailing out Mike Johnson again
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Speaker Mike Johnson. Photo: Allison Robbert/Bloomberg via Getty Images.
House Democrats aren't committing themselves to saving Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) should Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) take another shot at removing him.
Why it matters: Greene caught colleagues in both parties by surprise by forcing an ouster vote on Wednesday, leading some lawmakers to fear she's not above repeated attempts.
- "I talked to probably 30 or 40 members, nobody expected it," said one senior House Democrat.
- The lawmaker told Axios that a "question that came up quite a bit" on the Democratic side during the vote was "how many times can she do this?"
Driving the news: Greene forced a vote on what is known as a motion to vacate against Johnson, with Republican leadership to moving to "table" – kill – the measure.
- The measure was blocked 359-43, an overwhelming bipartisan rejection of Greene.
- Just 11 right-wing Republicans and 32 mostly progressive Democrats voted to allow a vote on ousting Johnson, with another seven Democrats voting present.
What we're hearing: Democratic leadership, which had previously made clear they would vote to table the motion, did not actively whip the vote on the House floor, according to multiple Democratic lawmakers.
- All they did was "let us know how they were going to be voting shortly before the vote," said one House Democrat.
- The lawmaker said that "a lot of people who had been conflicted" about their vote were swayed to kill the measure after Greene's "absurd" speech.
What they're saying: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), asked at a press conference after the vote what Democrats would do on potential future votes, responded, "haven't given it a thought."
- Democrats told Axios they expect – at minimum – to huddle and hash out their party's position before another potential vote: "I think it will warrant another discussion," said the senior House Democrat.
- Many Democrats believe Jeffries' vow to save Johnson only applies to Wednesdays' vote, with Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) calling it a "one-shot deal."
What they're saying: "Everything needs to be considered on its own merits. Circumstances can change," said Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), who voted to table.
- Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) told Axios: "I voted to table, but I'm not a cheap date. So we will revisit this again if we have to."
- Raskin, who also voted to table, said Democrats would "reevaluate it in terms of the political context at that moment."
Zoom in: Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.) raised the idea of concessions in exchange from saving Johnson, saying "there are important things we care about as Democrats" and "that is where we can really have some leverage."
- Balint, for her part, floated a vote on the Combating Antisemitism Act, a bipartisan bill to create a federal coordinator to combat antisemitism.
The other side: Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) told Axios he expects Democrats to keep voting down any efforts to oust Johnson.
- "As long as it's thought that the reason for the motion is because he brought forward the [foreign aid] package, I think we're going to vote the same way," he said.
