CV NEWS FEED // Rep. Thomas Massie, R-KY, announced Tuesday that he will cosponsor the effort to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-LA, which was proposed by his colleague Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-GA, late last month.
“I just told Mike Johnson in conference that I’m cosponsoring the Motion to Vacate that was introduced by [Greene],” Massie wrote on X (formerly Twitter) Tuesday morning.
Massie added that “[Johnson] should pre-announce his resignation (as [former House Speaker John] Boehner [R-OH] did), so we can pick a new Speaker without ever being without a GOP Speaker.”
Last October, following Rep. Matt Gaetz’s, R-FL, successful motion to vacate against Johnson’s predecessor former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-CA, the speakership was vacant for 22 days. During this period of time, the House was not able to vote on any legislation.
Notably, both Massie and Greene voted against the motion to remove McCarthy.
The American Tribune co-founder Jason Robertson asked Massie in a comment on his post, “What was the straw that broke the Camel’s Back? FISA? Foreign War Funding? Spending more than Pelosi? All of the above?”
“All of the above,” Massie replied. “This camel has a pallet of bricks.”
Hours before his announcement that he would support Greene’s motion, Massie criticized Johnson in another X post.
“Speaker Johnson has led the GOP to pass: 1) an omnibus that spends more than Pelosi’s highest year, 2) an expansion of the domestic warrantless surveillance program,” Massie wrote in the post early Tuesday morning.
“[A]nd this week he’s pushing, 3) Schumer’s dream bill which contains $100 billion of foreign aid, mostly for war,” the congressman added.
>> House Amendment to Require Warrant to Surveil Americans Fails In Tie Vote <<
The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that “Massie’s support for the removal of Johnson as speaker puts Johnson’s job in jeopardy.”
“Republicans control the House with a razor-thin majority and conservative ire continues to grow at the embattled speaker,” the Enquirer continued. “That margin became thinner in March when Wisconsin Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher [R-WI] announced he will resign early.”
Soon after Massie announced his cosponsorship of Greene’s motion, Johnson emphatically declared that he was not resigning. The speaker blasted the effort to oust him as “absurd,” adding “we are simply here trying to do our jobs.”
“It is not helpful to the cause, it is not helpful to the country, it does not help the House Republicans,” Johnson said.
He also said that he considers himself as “a wartime speaker and in a literal sense.”
“I knew that when I took the gavel,” Johnson continued. “I didn’t anticipate this would be an easy path.”
Read more about Rep. Greene’s “Motion to Vacate” against Speaker Johnson:
Rep. MTG Accuses Speaker Johnson of ‘Complete and Total Surrender’ to Democrats
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Files ‘Motion to Vacate’ Against Speaker Johnson
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