Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene’s motion to vacate Mike Johnson from his House speakership role is not in Donald Trump’s best interests, warned Representative Bob Good, who chairs the right-wing House Freedom Caucus, on Sunday.
Greene, a Georgia Republican, plans to call for a vote on her previously unprivileged motion to vacate Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, she said last Wednesday. She announced the motion to vacate in March after Johnson worked with Democrats to pass a bill to fund the government, but has grown increasingly critical of Johnson after he also passed a bipartisan bill to secure foreign aid for U.S. allies including Ukraine and Israel in their ongoing war against Russia and Hamas, respectively.
Johnson can only afford two GOP defectors in the vote due to his party’s razor-thin majority, assuming all Republicans are present. Representatives Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Paul Gosar of Arizona have said they support Greene’s motion to vacate. However, Democratic leadership has signaled they are planning to vacate the motion, potentially saving Johnson’s leadership.
Good, a Virginia Republican, issued a warning about the effort to oust Johnson in an interview on NewsNation’s The Hill Sunday.
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“She’s pretty much operating on her own with one or two others who have expressed support for what she’s doing. She doesn’t lead anyone,” he told host Chris Stirewalt. “She’s not acting in the best interests of President Trump.”
He added that he does not believe trying to remove Johnson is a “good move six months before an election” and that Greene has “always been about herself primarily.”
While Greene is a key Trump ally, the former president, who is the presumptive Republican 2024 presidential nominee, has not signaled support for ousting Johnson. Trump has been fairly complimentary toward Johnson, saying after a meeting between the two last month he is “getting along very well” with the House speaker.
“It’s not an easy situation for any speaker. I think he’s doing a very good job. He’s doing about as good as you’re going to do,” Trump said in April. “I’m sure that Marjorie understands that. She’s a very good friend of mine, and I know she has a lot of respect for the speaker.”
Good joined a growing number of Republicans in Congress who have spoken out against Greene’s efforts in recent days, including some of the most conservative members of Congress. Representative Andy Ogles of Tennessee told CNN last week he believes the effort to oust Johnson is a “distraction” and “mistake.”
Newsweek reached out to Greene’s office for comment via email.
The Freedom Caucus last year voted to remove Greene from the group, which is comprised of Congress’ most conservative Republicans over her personal attacks against some of the group’s members, former Representative Ken Buck previously told NBC News.
In response to the criticism, Greene said she doesn’t “give a rat’s a**” what her colleagues think about her hopes to remove Johnson.
“I voted for Mike Johnson because his voting record before he became speaker was conservative. But once he became speaker, he has become a man that none of us recognize,” the congresswoman said last week during a news conference.
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