Marjorie Taylor Greene issues major threat as Mike Johnson faces far-right rebellion
Washington DC - Less than three months into his tenure as House speaker, Mike Johnson is in danger of being toppled by members of his own party as far-right Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene issued a familiar threat.
With the January 19 deadline to pass a new government funding bill for the fiscal year 2024 and avoid a disastrous shutdown rapidly approaching, House Republican infighting is reaching fever-pitch again.
The bone of contention is the deal struck by Johnson with Democrats last Sunday, which sets a $1.6 trillion "topline" federal spending limit and meets most Republican demands.
Except, that is, for the far-right Freedom Caucus' fixation with vastly increased funding for draconian border security measures.
The alarm signals were ringing as soon as the deal was announced on January 7, with the influential group calling it a "total failure" in a post on X.
Now, the fall of yet another Republican speaker is in the air as Greene and like-minded party colleagues call for Johnson to either rip up the agreement or get the Kevin McCarthy treatment.
Marjorie Taylor Greene brings up motion to vacate
Speaking to Donald Trump's former White House adviser Steve Bannon, per The Hill, Greene said she had explicitly threatened Johnson with a motion to vacate – the procedure for removing a House speaker from their position – in a meeting on Friday.
"I told him yesterday in his office that I would vacate the chair that that is absolutely unacceptable," she insisted. "And we actually have the power of the first, we're the ones that are in control and we need to control the negotiation. I reiterated those same points this morning so the ball is in his court."
Greene and other Freedom Caucus members insist they will vote against any temporary funding bill introduced to avoid a government shutdown, something that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer already said he plans to put forward.
Cover photo: Collage: REUTERS & WIN MCNAMEE / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP