Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has expressed her intention to remove Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) due to his spending framework agreement with President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
In a conversation with former White House adviser Steve Bannon on his show, War Room, Greene discussed her dissatisfaction with Johnson’s deal, which has sparked anger among conservatives, including Greene and members of the Freedom Caucus. During a meeting with the Speaker, Greene made it clear that she would take action to “vacate the chair” if her budget demands were not met.
“In my meeting with him yesterday and many other members of Congress, I let Speaker Johnson know that in no way, shape and form will I support any type of CR [continuing resolution],” Greene explained.
She continued, “We aren’t continuing Nancy’s budget, Nancy Pelosi’s budget, and that if he moves forward with a separate deal, trading our border security, weakening H.R. 2 in exchange for $60 billion to Ukraine. I told him yesterday in his office that I would vacate the chair, that that is absolutely unacceptable.”
“And we actually have the power of the purse. We’re the ones that are in control and we need to control the negotiations. I reiterated those same points this morning. So the ball is in his court,” she added.
Greene’s critical evaluation of Johnson’s strategies emerged when Johnson made the determination to adhere to the budget agreement he negotiated with Schumer.
Johnson informed journalists, “Our initial agreement still stands. We are coordinating our subsequent actions and striving towards a comprehensive appropriations procedure. Therefore, remain attentive for further updates.”
Representative Bob Good (R-VA), the chairperson of the Freedom Caucus, expressed strong opposition to the spending framework, but dismissed the notion that Johnson could be removed from his position due to it, deeming it an absurd assumption.
