Her actions could potentially lead to a significant shift in the balance of power within Congress. In a strategic move to win support from a handful of holdouts, notably Matt Gaetz, then-aspiring Speaker Kevin McCarthy agreed to a rule that any GOP caucus member could propose a motion to remove the speaker from their position. (RELATED: McCarthy Implies Gaetz Tried To Illegally Stifle Ethics Probe)
Thanks to a historically narrow majority following the 2022 midterms, the rule allowed Gaetz and a handful of colleagues to sack McCarthy. The dwindling Republican majority, effectively down to one vote, makes Johnson exceedingly vulnerable.
Despite holding the White House and a majority in the Senate, Greene believes that the speaker could and should do more to advance an unabashedly conservative agenda.
“I will not tolerate our elected Republican Speaker Mike Johnson serving the Democrats and the Biden administration and helping them achieve their policies that are destroying our country,” Greene wrote her colleagues. “He is throwing our own razor-thin majority into chaos by not serving his own GOP conference that elected him.” (RELATED: Rep. Greene Slams ‘Democrat’ Speaker Johnson During Interview)
USA Today has more on her arguably insubordinate missive:
The letter comes as House lawmakers return to Washington from a two-week recess, signaling that Greene will be working to shore up support for forcibly removing Johnson from the speakership among her colleagues. At any time, Greene may force a vote to oust Johnson but it is so far unclear how much support her effort has. Republicans currently control the House with just a one-vote margin, meaning all it would take is just a few GOP lawmakers and all Democrats to remove the speaker.
Greene filed what is known as a “motion to vacate” against Johnson in March but did not move to force it to the floor, instead calling it a “warning” for the speaker. The Georgia Republican has not indicated when she intends to call it up for a vote but the letter suggests she is committing to her efforts to oust Johnson.
“I will not tolerate this type of Republican ‘leadership.’ This has been a complete and total surrender to, if not complete and total lockstep with, the Democrats’ agenda,” Greene said, arguing Johnson is jeopardizing the House Republican majority and giving voters “very little reason to vote for,” Republicans.
If Republicans do retain their majority in the 2024 election, Greene said, it would be because of former President Donald Trump being at the top of the ballot, “not because we have earned it.”
Later in the day, a frustrated Ben Shapiro criticized Greene and other Republican “clowns” for holding the party’s agenda “hostage” while ignoring the reality of governing in a divided government.
Greene used the letter to call herself a “team player” and claims to have paid her dues to the House Republicans’ campaign arm “and hundreds of thousands more.”
In it, she asserts that Republicans could have achieved significant conservative policy wins “if we had only put up a fight with Democrats.”
Greene also asserts that Johnson is no different from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).
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