BREAKING: MTG Files Motion To Vacate Speaker’s Chair

Fed up with the current state of affairs, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has taken a decisive stand. On Friday, Greene filed a motion to vacate the Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson (R-LA), amidst a tumultuous debate over what she described as a “uniparty minibus” bill.

The step continues to reflect the deep divisions within the House of Representatives, particularly over immigration policies and border security inside the GOP.

BREAKING NEWS — @RepMTG has filed a motion to vacate @SpeakerJohnson, according to multiple sources on the House floor.

Stay tuned for more info…..

— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) March 22, 2024

During her appearance on Steve Bannon’s War Room on Friday, Rep. Greene launched a vehement attack against Speaker Johnson and the bill in question, which she alleged is directed by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).

“This is a Chuck Schumer House bill…a disaster,” Greene stated. “This is something that every single Republican voter in the country is screaming against. This takes away every single ounce of strength and leverage that the House of Representatives have.”

WATCH:

On Friday morning, the House passed the $1.2 trillion federal budget package by a slim margin, signaling a critical move towards averting an impending partial government shutdown set for midnight.

Introduced in the early hours of Thursday, the package brings together six appropriations bills, which together account for about 70% of the U.S. government’s discretionary spending according to Fox News. The goal of this legislative package is to ensure the government remains funded through the end of the current fiscal year, which concludes on September 30, 2024.

However, the motion to vacate the Speaker’s chair is a rare procedural move that has shown the discontent among some Republican members with their leadership.

Greene’s criticism extended to the broader implications of the bill, suggesting it represents a capitulation to Democratic priorities, including the funding of “full-term late abortions” and initiatives supporting the LGBTQ community. “This is the worst possible scenario for Republicans,” she said.

“Mike Johnson has gotten rolled completely, totally in every single process. He has not negotiated with strength. He’s handed every single thing over to Chuck Schumer. This is Chuck Schumer’s bill. This is a bill that the White House has said, pass as fast as possible. Pass it because Joe Biden wants to sign it into law.”

The congresswoman’s call to action was clear: “He [Johnson] can pull this bill right now…or he can move forward with this bill at his own risk.”

The motion to vacate, if passed by a majority of the House members, would effectively force Speaker Johnson to relinquish his role, leading to a new election for the Speaker position within the House. The motion is rare and is considered a drastic action, given the Speaker’s role as the presiding officer of the House, responsible for guiding legislative debate, making procedural rulings, and representing the House to the President and the Senate.

The Speaker is third in the United States presidential line of succession, making the position highly influential within the federal government. One of the most notable instances occurred in 2015 when then-Representative Mark Meadows (R-NC) filed a motion to vacate the chair against Speaker John Boehner.

Meadows’ motion was part of internal strife within the Republican Party, driven by dissatisfaction among the more conservative factions with Boehner’s leadership. Although the motion itself was not voted on, the pressure and internal conflict it represented contributed to Boehner’s decision to resign from the Speakership and the House later that year.

Former speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted by a motion to vacate during the summer of last year.