Massie Ramps Up Campaign to Remove Speaker Johnson from Office
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) has joined forces with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in a bid to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson. Massie's announcement of co-sponsoring the motion to vacate the chair held by Johnson follows a contention over foreign aid bills. The move to challenge Johnson's leadership comes amid a backdrop of procedural debates, as Johnson has proposed advancing separate foreign aid bills for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan, and bundling other Republican security priorities into a fourth piece of legislation.
The potential ouster of Johnson is underscored by the House's narrow Republican majority, which could further tighten with the resignation of Rep. Mike Gallagher, leaving a 217-213 margin. This slender majority means that if all Democrats were to vote in favor of the motion to oust Johnson, only a handful of Republicans would be required to join the effort for it to succeed.
Johnson has maintained that he will not resign and dismissed the idea of a vacate motion as unconstructive. Meanwhile, some Democrats have signaled they may support Johnson to avoid further instability in the House, whereas others have expressed support for the ouster. The situation represents a complex power struggle within the House, reflecting divisions within the Republican Party and the broader political dynamics at play.
