House Speaker Mike Johnson survives attempt to oust him

After weeks of threats, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., called for a vote to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday, May 8, citing concerns about his leadership. The motion was decisively rejected within minutes by a vote of 359 to 43, with most Republicans joining Democrats.

“By passing the Democrats’ agenda and handcuffing the Republicans’ ability and influence legislation, our elected Republican Speaker Mike Johnson has aided and abetted the Democrats and the Biden administration in destroying our country,” Greene said on the House floor.

Eleven Republicans voted against tabling Greene’s resolution. Greene expressed no surprise at the outcome but did not indicate whether she would attempt to remove Johnson again.

Johnson, joking with reporters after the vote, referred to the event as “just another Wednesday on Capitol Hill.” He thanked his colleagues for their support and described Greene’s efforts as misguided.

In remarks to the press, Johnson stated, “Hopefully this is the end of the personality politics and the frivolous character assassination that has defined the 118th Congress. It’s regrettable. It’s not who we are as Americans, and we’re better than this. We need to get beyond it.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said that his party helped save Johnson’s job to restore common sense and reduce chaos in Washington.

“Even though we’re in the minority, we effectively have been governing as if we were in the majority, because we continue to provide a majority of the votes necessary to get things done,” Jeffries sai In a recent CBS “60 Minutes” interview. “Those are just the facts.”