Greene Threatens Motion To Vacate Johnson Over Border Deal

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who replaced Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in October, could soon face the same fate of his predecessor.

In a recent interview, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) confirmed that she was considering calling for a vote to remove Johnson from the leadership position if he advances legislation that includes additional money to support Ukraine in its war against Russia.

“I would introduce the motion to vacate myself,” she said.

Johnson has already faced backlash from within his own party over a short-term budget deal he reached with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) earlier this month that critics said failed to address pressing border issues and would actually cost taxpayers more than expected.

Now, the top Senate Republican is pressuring Johnson to pursue a bill, as negotiated by Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) that would include both border security funding and additional Ukraine aid, claiming that only such a compromise bill would stand a chance attracting enough Democratic votes to pass.

“If we had a 100% Republican government — president, House, Senate — we probably would not be able to get a single Democratic vote to pass what Senator Lankford and the administration are trying to get together on,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said. “So this is a unique opportunity to accomplish something in divided government that wouldn’t be there under unified government.”

A spokesperson for the speaker weighed in on the state of bicameral negotiations, asserting that Johnson “has been clear that America needs transformative policy changes to secure the southern border” and cited previous assertions to that end.

“Before he visited the border, at the border, and since leaving the border, Speaker Johnson has said we need to fix the broken parole system, reform the asylum process, reinstitute Remain in Mexico, end catch-and-release and finish constructing the border wall,” the spokesperson added. “Together, these policies would stop the flow of illegal aliens and safeguard Americans. His position has not changed. The Senate must pass policies that actually secure the border.”

For critics like Greene, however, any effort to tie those reforms to Ukraine aid is a non-starter.

“If Republicans had a spine and if our conference stuck together, we have all the power that we need to solve the border crisis right now,” the Georgia Republican said. “I completely disagree with Mike Johnson that we aren’t going to be able to do it. I think if we just refused to fund anything and we stood our ground that we would come out winning that.”