Marjorie Taylor Greene demands Mike Johnson’s resignation amid Republican rift over Ukraine aid bill
‘Mike Johnson’s speakership is over,’ Congresswoman says
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Your support makes all the difference.Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has demanded speaker Mike Johnson's resignation as the Republican infighting continued over Congress’s approval of $61bn in military aid for Ukraine.
The US House of Representatives on Saturday voted 311-112 to pass a $95bn aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Western allies in the Indo-Pacific as Democrats and Republicans banded together to overcome months of rightwing resistance to renewed American support for Ukraine’s war effort.
Angry conservatives fumed at their colleagues after the vote. As dozens of members stood up in the House and started waving Ukrainian flags, one conservative member shouted into the mic: “Put those damn flags away!”
The passage of the aid package has put Mr Johnson's speakership at risk, with some Republican colleagues accusing him of siding with Democrats.
“He is absolutely working for the Democrats. He’s passing the Biden administration’s agenda,” Ms Greene told Fox News on Sunday.
“Mike Johnson’s speakership is over. He needs to do the right thing to resign and allow us to move forward in a controlled process. If he doesn’t do so, he will be vacated.”
Ms Greene earlier called Mr Johnson a "lame duck" for his “third betrayal” over what she claimed was "bull****".
"I support my majority, I'll support the majority next time. I do not support Mike Johnson, he is already a lame duck," she said on Capitol Hill.
"... and then he did this bullshit in here on the House floor. Foreign war package that does nothing for America. It’s unbelievable," she told CNN.
Three Republicans have signed on to a motion for Mr Johnson to vacate his post and issued public warnings that any attempt by Democrats to save him would only backfire by rallying more conservatives against the speaker.
Mr Johnson said he "understands" the criticism of the legislation but "there is no question whatsoever that the House has made many improvements to the Senate bill, and the package we sent over there is much better".
“This is not a blank check, like the Senate’s version,” Mr Johnson told reporters after the vote. “The loan system ... is a House innovation.”
He also noted that Democrats forced his hand on the passage of aid to Ukraine by opposing a standalone bill that would have solely provided military assistance to Israel.
“I don’t walk around this building being worried about a motion to vacate,” he said, dismissing prospects of an ouster.
“I have to do my job. … I’ve done here what I believe to be the right thing to allow the House to work its will. And as I’ve said, you do the right thing, and you let the chips fall where they may.”
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