After a week-long break from Washington, Speaker Mike Johnson returns to Washington with a slew of policy victories — and will be forced to confront the resulting threats to his job.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., reminded Johnson on Sunday that she is waiting in the wings to take him down. “His days as Speaker are numbered,” she wrote on X.
The Republican firebrand tore into the $60 billion for Ukraine that Congress passed last week — and warned Johnson and the rest of the congressional leaders that they could usher in “boots on the ground” in Ukraine.
“Permanent funding for Ukraine is exactly what they want and Mike Johnson will give it to them,” Green wrote on X.
“Peace is not an option for them because it does not fit the government’s war and economic model, which is despicable and abhorrent.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., reminded Johnson on Sunday that she is waiting in the wings to take him down. “His days as Speaker are numbered,” she wrote on X
She continued, “The plan is to continue to fund the proxy war with Russia in Ukraine and if that doesn’t work, after all the Ukrainian men are slaughtered, they will then put American troops on the ground. Johnson will do whatever Biden/Schumer wants to keep the gavel in his hand, but he has completely sold out the Republican voters who gave us the majority.”
Greene cited a statement from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which said the US and Ukraine are working to “establish specific levels of support for this year and for the next decade.”
Johnson received praise from across the political spectrum for pushing through a $95 billion foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan and reauthorizing the intelligence community’s unwarranted spying powers.
He has also received a response. Two more Republicans — Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Paul Gosar, R-Ariz. – joined a motion to remove Johnson from the speakership that Greene launched last month.
The motion has not yet been brought to the table, and Greene has been cautious about any time frame or red line that might prompt her to bring the proposal forward. The three Republicans submitting the motion are trying to increase pressure on Johnson to resign.
The Republican firebrand sounded off on the $60 billion for Ukraine that Congress passed last week – and warned Johnson and the rest of the congressional leaders could usher in ‘boots on the ground’ in Ukraine
“Mike Johnson’s speakership is over,” Greene told Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures” earlier this month. “He must do the right thing by resigning and allowing us to move forward in a controlled process.”
Such a vote would again throw the House into turmoil, much like the three weeks without speakers when Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., launched a motion to unseat former Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
But Republicans can only afford two deviations in party-line votes — and many fear that another motion to clear the party could lead to more early retirements on their side, so some hardliners have come out strongly against Greene’s motion.
Gaetz suggested on his podcast earlier this month that someone in his party could be “bribed” to let Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries become speaker.
‘I do believe in a majority of one seat. There could be one or two or three of my colleagues who would somehow take bribes to deprive Republicans of a majority in the first place.”
Rep. Bob Good, R-Fla., another McCarthy antagonist and chairman of the Freedom Caucus, said Johnson has failed us as speaker but said it’s too close to the November election to try for a new to get someone started.
But Democrats have already said they would not vote for a motion to impeach the chairman after he questioned aid to Ukraine.
Johnson has clung to former President Donald Trump as a lifeline. Trump has taken a moderate stance, defending Johnson and pointing to the small majority he has to work with.
“Look, we have a majority of one, okay? It’s not like he can go and do whatever he wants,” the former president said on Real America’s Voice last week.
The Ukrainian bill includes $23 billion to replenish U.S. supplies depleted by the fight in Russia.
About $11 billion would go to U.S. military operations in the region and $14 billion would go toward the purchase of advanced weapons systems.
Another $26 million would go toward oversight and accountability for equipment given to Ukraine.
Two separate economic aid funds worth $7.85 billion and $1.58 billion would also be offered to Ukraine under a loan structure.
The president has broad control over the terms of the loan and could forgive half of it after November 15, 2024, and the other half after January 1, 2026.