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House Republicans say they aren’t worried about paying a political price for backing Speaker Mike Johnson now that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green has promised to force a vote on ousting him.
“Even if it did, I wouldn’t care,” Texas Rep. Jake Ellzey said when asked if backing the speaker could cost him votes back home. “There is no support for this.”
Greene announced Wednesday that she intended to trigger a motion to vacate Johnson some time next week. During a morning press conference, she stood beside a blown up picture of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries handing Johnson the speaker’s gavel and accused Johnson of giving Democrats “everything they want” by compromising on issues like the budget and Ukraine.
The effort to topple Johnson is almost universally expected to fail after Democratic leaders said this week they would back him. Only two other Republicans have officially signed onto Greene’s motion, one of whom — Rep. Thomas Massie — joined Greene at her presser. Nonetheless, Greene argued that “the American people need to see a recorded vote” so they could tell who supported the “uniparty” in Washington.
Republicans who spoke with Semafor on Wednesday expressed weary irritation with Greene’s push, but little concern that saving Johnson could cost them politically. Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon, a moderate who faces a primary this month, described Massie and Greene as “just two people being dumb and hurting the whole team.” A senior House GOP aide allowed that while “the crazies won’t like it,” they didn’t think siding with the speaker would “be the nail in the coffin” for any members.
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Hardline Republicans also seemed unworried about backlash from conservatives. “In this business you get some happy, you can get some mad. That what comes with the territory,” said Rep. Ralph Norman, a member of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus, who said he’d vote against Greene’s motion.
Even members who helped oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy last year say they aren’t thrilled about a repeat of that experience. Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good, who’s facing a tough primary, told reporters he doesn’t support a motion to vacate and suggested the effort is a distraction.
“We have a three-vote margin. We should be focused on reelecting President Trump. This does not help President Trump,” Good said
Prior to Wednesday, even some of Johnson’s harshest House GOP critics had doubted that Greene would actually trigger a vote on her motion. Trump himself reiterated his support for Johnson after last month’s Ukraine vote, giving the speaker a critical boost.
Still, Greene appears determined to see her effort through.
“We have Hakeem Jeffries and the Democrats coming out and embracing Mike Johnson with a warm hug and a big wet sloppy kiss,” she said Wednesday. “I find it very satisfying that they are ready to vote for Mike Johnson. And you want to know something? I want to see it happen.”
Room for Disagreement
Massie isn’t so sure Republicans are safe voting to keep Johnson.
“I think it could,” he said when asked if backing the speaker might cost his colleagues with voters. “There’s some primaries that still haven’t settled out yet and I think it could be consequential in those.”