Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Move to Remove Speaker Mike Johnson and Trump’s Response

TFD – Explore the latest developments surrounding Marjorie Taylor Greene’s move to remove Speaker Mike Johnson, and Donald Trump’s response.

In response to a question regarding GOP Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene’s move to remove Louisiana Republican Speaker Mike Johnson from office on Friday, former President Donald Trump stated his support for Speaker Johnson.

During a press conference held at Mar-a-Lago, Trump stated, “We’re getting along very well with the speaker, and I get along very well with Marjorie.” He was standing next to Johnson. It was a difficult procedure, but our speaker was elected. Furthermore, I believe that this is not an easy circumstance for any speaker.

The gathering at Mar-a-Lago on Friday, which was reportedly the speaker’s brainchild, coincides with Johnson facing the most significant threat to his speakership to date in Washington, where Greene is threatening to force a vote to remove him from the top leadership position.

Johnson’s choice to host an event with the former president gives the speaker a chance to look for political cover as he deals with significant decisions on the future and is under tremendous pressure from his right flank on a number of policy matters, including aid to Ukraine.

Trump stated on Friday that Johnson is “doing a very good job.”

And since Marjorie is one of my best friends, I’m sure she is aware of it. Additionally, I am aware of her admiration for the speaker,” Trump remarked.

According to people with knowledge of the situation, Johnson will also be meeting with Trump with the intention of getting a sense from the former president on a possible aid package for Ukraine, a politically sensitive issue that might infuriate Trump, split the House GOP, and put an end to Johnson’s first speakership. A few of the speaker’s allies have advised Johnson to update Trump on his plans regarding Ukraine, understanding that Trump’s support or lack thereof could make or break the legislation and Johnson’s speakership.

According to a senior Trump aide, Johnson and Trump utilized their joint news conference on Friday afternoon to “draw attention to” state plans and litigation that they claim will permit non-citizens to vote. According to federal law, non-citizens are not allowed to vote in federal elections. Those who do so unlawfully face fines, a year in jail, and even deportation. But Trump has continually asserted, without evidence, that Democrats desire undocumented immigrants to enter the US in order to influence the outcome of the election.

Johnson set up a cynical political messaging vote by promising a vote on a bill that would demand evidence of citizenship to vote, even though it is already unlawful, during his speech.

We shall do every effort to guarantee that this nation holds free and fair elections. Standing beside the former president, Johnson stated, “We are introducing legislation requiring every person who registers to vote in a federal election to first show that they are an American citizen.

Voters continue to cite the border problem as a top priority, so Republicans are using it as a kind of rallying cry as they try to incite panic around immigration and election security ahead of the November election.

Trump and Johnson, as well as National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Richard Hudson, met Friday night on the Mar-a-Lago terrace. According to a source close to the speaker, the three were organizing congressional campaigns and possible Trump endorsements.

In the struggle for the speakership, Trump’s influence and the degree to which he gets involved in House GOP infighting might be very significant.

Sources close to both Johnson and Trump have stated that Johnson’s allies have pushed Trump to openly endorse the speaker or to avoid getting involved in his back-and-forth with House Republicans.

Trump has already demonstrated how he might further complicate Johnson’s governance. Just last week, the former president—who took this stand while the speaker was attempting to get a reauthorization bill through his chamber—called on Republicans to repeal the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Following Trump’s demand that the bill be killed, a gang of extreme conservatives rebelled against the GOP leadership, destabilizing the effort to approve the law by upending a procedural vote on the floor.

Following Trump’s request on members to “kill FISA” ahead of the procedural vote, Majority Leader Steve Scalise informed reporters on Thursday that members had spoken with Trump about the law over the previous 24 hours.

Scalise stated, “I think the two-year sunset has a lot of appeal to a lot of people. There have been some conversations with the president, and I am not going to share those conversations.”

Due to the legislation’s two-year sunset, it would fall to Trump to amend FISA provisions in the future if he were to win the presidency. On Friday afternoon, the amended bill was approved by the House, but not before a single vote in favor of an amendment that upset several conservatives.

Johnson has been a devoted follower of Trump for a long time and has contributed behind the scenes to help him in his attempt to rig the 2020 election. As previously reported by TFD, following the election, Johnson emailed each House Republican from a personal email account, requesting signatures in support of a longshot Texas lawsuit that aims to nullify votes cast in the Electoral College by Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The Supreme Court ultimately dismissed the lawsuit.

However, it’s unclear what, if anything, Trump will do with Johnson facing the possibility of being removed from the speakership.

Since Johnson’s views are long seen as being more conservative than those of outgoing Speaker Kevin McCarthy, conservatives immediately welcomed him when he was elected speaker. However, Johnson has had to deal with leading a historically small majority and guiding the Democratic Party’s support for the adoption of significant legislation, like laws pertaining to government spending, which has enraged conservatives.

When they meet on Friday, Greene indicated on Thursday that she will not give up on her goal of unseating Johnson, even if Trump supports him.

According to Greene, the former president’s engagement with the speaker is “separate” from the push to remove Johnson from office. When Manu Raju of CNN repeatedly questioned Greene on whether she would continue to push for Johnson’s removal even if Trump supports him, Greene consistently gave the impression that she was not prepared to let up.

The move to vacate appears to have the support of a significant number of conference participants, in my opinion. That is a matter that our elected Speaker of the House is handling internally. Two entirely different problems. I hope tomorrow’s meeting goes well for them,” she stated.

But many House Republicans fear a repeat to the chaos and instability that engulfed their conference for weeks following conservatives’ historic and unprecedented vote last year that fired McCarthy, and they do not want Johnson to lose the gavel.

In a meeting held behind closed doors on Wednesday, Johnson informed House Republicans that he had had a conversation with the former president the day before. But Johnson responded, “I’m not going to comment on the conversations with President Trump,” in response to a CNN question about whether he had asked for Trump’s support in the event of a vote to remove him.

On the conversation, Trump’s staff likewise declined to respond.

Johnson did, however, issue a warning, saying that “it would be chaos in the House” if the speaker was to be removed by vote.

One of Trump’s most devoted fans, Greene, also told CNN that she had just spoken with the president, though she would not say how he felt about her efforts.

On Friday, Johnson and Greene were again observed conversing on the House floor. Johnson added that the two had a conversation on “all sorts of things,” stressing the value of dialogue.

Johnson told reporters, “Marjorie and I agree on our conservative philosophy.” “We simply disagree on tactics from time to time. In a divided government like the one we have now, communication with members and their comprehension of the reasoning behind decisions is crucial to ensuring that they have a say in them.

Greene, however, was one of the conservatives who harshly criticized Johnson for not included their preferred amendment in the FISA reauthorization.

Speaker Johnson cast the deciding vote to repeal the provision that would have prohibited Americans from being surveilled without a warrant. “What distinguishes Speaker Nancy Pelosi from Speaker Johnson?” she posted on X on Friday. “I believe that will clarify for many people what I have been saying.”

There have been more developments added to this article.