Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) criticized Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) for her effort to remove House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) from his position. Greene and other House Republicans have threatened to force a vote on a motion to vacate that she filed over one month ago.
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She recently announced that she would soon pursue this action despite opposition coming from Republicans and Democrats in Congress. Others have criticized her actions, arguing that the ill-fated effort distracts from other legislative priorities.
During an appearance on the RealClearPolitics radio show, Cruz addressed the feud between Greene and Johnson, calling her effort to unseat him “silly” and “counterproductive.”
“Look, I think it is silly. I think it is seriously counterproductive. I think Mike Johnson is a strong conservative who’s been given an almost impossible task. He has a tiny majority in the House, just a two-vote majority. That means any three House members run off to the hills and the majority evaporates. And I think Marjorie Taylor-Greene, to try to topple the speaker increases the chances of chaos. It increases the chances of handing control to the Democrats. And there is zero chance a more conservative speaker will result. And so I think what she’s doing is really unhelpful to the country.”
During a Wednesday press conference with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), Greene announced her intention to force the vote on the motion. She lashed out at the speaker over issues like foreign aid to Ukraine and the reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The lawmaker repeated criticisms made by others about Johnson’s leadership, particularly his decision to collaborate with Democrats to pass foreign aid legislation.
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“He passed three continuing resolutions, and then he finally passed a two-part omnibus that fully funded Joe Biden’s agenda and the Democrat agenda, funded the Department of Justice that…wants to put President Trump in jail for the rest of his life, which is a death sentence. Mike Johnson fully funded the FBI, which raided Mar-a-Lago, and he gave them a brand new building as a gift. Pro-life Mike Johnson funded full-term abortion clinics, funded the trans agenda on children that 70 percent of Americans are completely against on both sides of the aisle and he fully funded Joe Biden’s open border policies, the number one issue in America.”
Johnson clapped back at Greene during a media appearance, saying she is not a “serious lawmaker.”
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Johnson’s response comes as Greene declared that she would be forcing a vote on a motion to vacate to remove him as speaker. In an interview recorded Tuesday night that will air at 6 p.m. Wednesday on NewsNation’s “The Hill,” Johnson was asked whether he believes Greene is a “serious lawmaker.”
“I don’t think she’s proving to be, no,” Johnson said in a preview of the interview.
“I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about her,” he continued. “I got to do my job, and we do the right thing, and we let the chips fall where they may. And that’s my philosophy, that’s how we’re governing.”
“We’re going to keep the train on the tracks and show the American people not just what we’re against, but what we’re for. That there’s a conservative agenda that is necessary to get the country back on the right track, and the way for us to do that is to keep and grow the House majority,” Johnson added.
“Descending into chaos and closing the House down and vacating the chair again is exactly the opposite of what needs to happen,” he said.
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As stated previously, removing Johnson as speaker is not a likely outcome. Greene will struggle to get enough support from Republicans to approve such a move. Democrats have already indicated that they will back the speaker, at least for the time being.
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