(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) A defiant Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., rebuked both House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and outgoing Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wisc., who is set to resign and leave his seat vacant until next year.
Speaking to Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on the latest edition of Sunday Morning Futures, Greene did not mince words regarding her efforts to hold Republicans accountable ahead of the 2024 election.
“Speaker Johnson cannot remain as speaker of the house,” Greene told Bartiromo, laying blame on him for the continuously decreasing Republican majority in the House of Representatives.
Greene criticized Johnson for permitting Gallagher’s delayed departure until April 19, which exceeds the state’s deadline for holding special elections and filling the vacant congressional seat until the next cycle.
Earlier in her remarks, Greene singled out Gallagher, Johnson, and Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., (who also resigned prematurely) for inadvertently bolstering Democratic influence.
“Those people stepping down early and leaving are the ones that are leaving it, us at risk of the Democrats controlling the majority, not me,” she declared.
Greene is leading efforts to expel Gallagher from Congress before April 19, thereby enabling the state to pursue a replacement candidate. Notably, the district in question is a reliably Republican stronghold.
During the same interview, she reiterated her intent to unseat Speaker Johnson but clarified that she has yet to bring the motion to vacate the speakership to the House floor.
“This is like issuing a pink slip and giving our conference a notice, saying that we have got to find a new speaker. This may take weeks, it may take months, it may not if even happen until next congress.”
Greene alluded that Johnson’s support for a $1.2 trillion appropriations bill to fund the federal government until September signifies the conclusion of his tenure as speaker.
She cited his failure to allow Republicans and Americans a 72-hour window to scrutinize the bill, which was also endorsed by Senate Democrats and President Joe Biden.
“I will force change. I’m not bringing chaos,” she emphasized, underscoring that removing Johnson wouldn’t impede former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
Her remarks aim to refute criticisms suggesting that leaving the speakership vacant might negatively impact Republicans politically in an election year.
