Greene tells audience why she wants to remove House speaker

Apr. 9—U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome, on Monday laid out her case against House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, to a capacity crowd at the Tunnel Hill Depot.

She said she thinks Johnson's leadership has been disastrous for Republicans.

Greene last month filed a motion to vacate the speakership, following House approval of a $1.2 trillion spending package.

"A Republican speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, brought that very bill to the floor, passed with the Democrats," she said. "He did not have a majority of Republicans."

Greene represents Georgia's 14th Congressional District, which includes Whitfield and Murray counties.

Greene said Johnson broke a House Republicans policy to give members 72 hours to read a bill before voting on it.

"He gave us only 24 hours to read a 1,000-page bill," she said. "No one can read a 1,000-page bill in a day."

Greene said despite its size, the bill will do nothing to improve border security.

"The most egregious thing he did is that he tied our hands and would not allow amendments," she said.

Greene said if amendments had been allowed, Republicans could have, among other things, put a border security bill inside the spending bill.

"Currently, the Democrats control the White House, with President Joe Biden," Greene said. "The Democrats control the Senate. And Republicans control the House of Representatives with a razor-thin majority."

Republicans currently have 218 seats in the House to 213 for the Democrats. Four Republican members have resigned so far this year, and another will resign later this month.

"That is a majority that I fought for," Greene said. "That is a majority that I campaigned all over the country for."

She noted that Republicans in the House had a difficult year in 2023.

"We have had bitter battles with one another," she said. "But I want you to know that anyone who serves in leadership in America should be prepared to battle for what is right. We should be prepared to fight it out with one another. We should be prepared to find common ground. We should be prepared to hold the line and do what's right, to do what our voters want us to do. But that has not happened in this Congress. As a matter of fact, our Republican majority has failed completely."

Greene laid much of the blame for that failure on Johnson. She accused him of being more willing to work with Democrats in the Senate and with the White House than with his own caucus.

"They are giving everything over to the Democrats, and that's the leadership we have in Washington, D.C.," she said. "And I will not tolerate it."

That line drew loud and sustained applause.

"Am I angry? Yes," she said. "My question is, are you angry?"

Greene also criticized Johnson for saying aid to Ukraine is a top priority for him when he opposed it several months ago.

Greene said she wishes the best for Ukraine but she opposes more aid for the country.

"We want peace in Ukraine," she said.

She said the Ukrainian people are not being served by drafting their young men "to fight America's proxy war against Russia."

Johnson's office did not immediately reply to an email request for a response.

The Associated Press reported back in March that in a statement a spokesperson for Johnson defended the speaker and his record.

"Speaker Johnson always listens to the concerns of members, but is focused on governing," Raj Shah said. "He will continue to push conservative legislation that secures our border, strengthens our national defense and demonstrates how we'll grow our majority."