House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday he will pursue the gavel in the next Congress while insisting he was not in a “negotiation” with far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to keep his job.
Johnson (R-La.) huddled with Greene (R-Ga.) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) inside his office for roughly two hours Monday evening.
“I thought it was productive. We’ll visit again today. It’s not a negotiation. This is how I’ve operated as speaker,” Johnson told reporters Tuesday. “Everybody knows I have lengthy discussions, detailed discussions on a daily basis with members across the conference. There are 217 of us [Republicans].”
“There’s nothing unusual about this. I’ve heard Marjorie and Thomas’s ideas just like I have every day for the last six months, heard others,” he added. “Everybody has the same opportunity to do that.”
“It’s not a negotiation at all.”
But Greene certainly seemed to believe she was negotiating with Johnson and laid out four demands Tuesday for him to accept or else face a motion to vacate the chair.
First, Greene told former Trump White House strategist Steve Bannon, she wants Johnson to abide by the Hastert Rule, meaning he won’t bring bills to the House floor for a vote that aren’t supported by the majority of Republicans.
Last month, Johnson wrangled through a roughly $61 billion military assistance package for war-torn Ukraine in a 311-112 vote with 101 Republican “yeas” and 112 GOP “nays.”
That vote was seemingly the last straw for Greene, who announced she would pursue a vote on a motion to vacate after dangling the threat against Johnson since March.
Second, Greene wants funding for Ukraine cut off.
This will likely roil Democrats, whose leadership has committed to bailing Johnson out due to the vote on Ukraine aid.
Third, Greene wants Johnson to bring a bill defunding special counsel Jack Smith’s office, a request to which Johnson seemed open.
“There’s been a lot of discussion here amongst House Republicans in particular for a long, long time about the abuse of the special counsels,” he said.
“We’re looking very intently at it because I think the problem has reached a crescendo.”
That could also rankle House Democrats who intended to toss Johnson a lifeline.
Fourth, Greene wants the lower chamber to pass 12 individual appropriation bills to fund the government by Sept. 30, rather than bundling them into omnibus or minibus packages, as the House did in March.
“If we don’t get our 12 separate appropriation bills, we’ll have to do a 1% cut to spending or we won’t do anything at all,” she said.
“I have high expectations and they have to be met in full. There is no middle ground. There is no compromise,” Greene added.
By Tuesday afternoon, she had backed off her imminent threat to trigger Johnson’s ouster, telling reporters there was no immediate deadline for the speaker to respond to her demands.
So far, Greene enjoys the backing of Massie and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) if she decides to forge ahead with a motion to vacate.
“You wouldn’t believe what’s being talked about. ‘Oh we’re gonna get back at her. She’s gonna lose committee assignments next Congress. She’ll get primaried. We’re going to come after her,'” Greene said. “That’s the little chitter-chatter going around Washington DC right now.”
Former President Donald Trump, 77, had a call with Greene over the weekend and urged her to stand down against Johnson, according to Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.)
Greene was coy about her conversations with Trump.
“I fight for President Trump harder in Washington DC than anybody, but everybody right now is trying to pretend like there’s a problem between us and I’m going to tell you right now, there is not,” she said.
No matter if or when the motion to vacate comes up for a vote, Johnson insisted Tuesday he was not going anywhere.
“I intend to lead this conference in the future,” he told reporters. “I’m convinced that my number one job and responsibility is to keep and grow the House majority in November. That’s my singular focus.”
