Dems in the House state they'll protect Speaker Mike Johnson should Taylor Greene try to remove him from office.
On Tuesday, the higher-ups in the Democratic party made an announcement: they were planning to stop a move against House Speaker Mike Johnson that involved his removal from the post, which was being pushed forward by Republicans, and specific individuals like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. They stressed the need to move on from this period of "Pro-Putin Republican obstruction," and during their statement, they declared their intentions to vote against Greene's Motion to Vacate the Chair. If she went ahead with her motion, it wouldn't be successful, they said.
Greene however, made it clear that she was going to go ahead with the motion to vacate Johnson, just so she could force a recorded vote. She wanted everyone to see where each member stood on the issue. "If the Democrats want to elect him Speaker (and some Republicans want to support the Democrats’ chosen Speaker), I’ll give them the chance to do it. I'm a big believer in recorded votes because putting Congress on record allows every American to see the truth and provides transparency to our votes," she wrote on Tuesday. "Americans deserve to see the Uniparty on full display. I’m about to give them their coming out party!"
Johnson also weighed in on the matter, speaking to reporters shortly after the Democrats' announcement, and defended the fact that he needs votes from Democrats to stay in power and maintained that he didn't ask for their help. "I have to do my job," he said. "We have to do what we believe to be the right thing, what the country needs right now is a functioning Congress."
He was then asked by CNN's Manu Raju if he'd be comfortable counting on Democratic support to keep the gavel, and responded by saying, "You hope you have the support of everyone, the entire country." Johnson emphasized that he hadn't sought assistance from Democrats to maintain his speakership and instead was more focused on accomplishing his tasks and passing legislation.
The Democrats confirmed the decision at the end of their caucus meeting that same morning, with various Republicans informing CNN that the efforts behind the motion to vacate Johnson were "dead." Florida's Rep. Kat Cammack had stated earlier on Tuesday that there had been no progress in relation to the motion since the House's weeklong recess, and Oklahoma's Kevin Hern, also exiting the House Republican weekly conference meeting, downplayed the motion-to-vacate threats, insisting, "Nobody is talking about it."
Greene was absent on Monday, the first day back after the recess, and so far, she hasn't been spotted on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. Johnson revealed to CNN that he hadn't conversed with Greene concerning the motion to vacate threat.
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Source: edition.cnn.com
