Greene says she'll move next week for House vote to remove Johnson as GOP speaker

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said Wednesday that she'll attempt next week to remove House Speaker Mike Johnson, her latest move in a political chess match over the future of the House Republican Conference.

The conservative firebrand has vowed for weeks to remove Johnson with a parliamentary procedure called a "motion to vacate" that allows any conference member to call for a full House vote to remove the speaker.

However, in the ensuing days, 2024 GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump has reportedly urged her to drop the effort until at least after the November elections. 

Greene, a Georgia Republican, has the support of two fellow conference members – Reps. Paul Gosar, of Arizona, and Thomas Massie, of Kentucky.

But nobody else in the conference has publicly backed her plan. And House Democrat leader Hakeem Jeffries, who Johnson has struck bipartisan deals with to pass legislation, has reportedly said members of his conference will supply the necessary floor votes to block Greene's ouster attempt. 

Greene's effort is largely over Johnson's recent reliance on votes from Democrats to pass legislation such as the $1.2 trillion spending bill and a $95 foreign aid package with $61 billion for Ukraine.

"Next week, I am going to be calling this motion to vacate," Greene said at a press conference Wednesday morning. "I can't wait to see Democrats go out and support a Republican speaker and have to go home to their primaries and have to run for Congress again having supported a Republican speaker, a Christian conservative. I think that will play well. I'm excited about it," she added.

She also said the "American people need to see a recorded vote."