Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) said on Friday she is threatening to oust Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) over his spending framework agreement with President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
Greene spoke with former White House adviser and former Breitbart News executive chairman Steve Bannon on his show, War Room, about Johnson’s spending framework deal, which has enraged conservatives, including Greene and members of the Freedom Caucus.
The Georgia conservative said in a meeting with the Speaker that she would move to “vacate the chair” if he did not meet her demands on the budget.
“In my meeting with him yesterday and many other members of Congress, I let Speaker Johnson know that in no way, shape and form will I support any type of CR [continuing resolution],” Greene explained.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on December 13, 2023 (Craig Hudson for The Washington Post via Getty Images).
She continued, “We aren’t continuing Nancy’s budget, Nancy Pelosi’s budget, and that if he moves forward with a separate deal, trading our border security, weakening H.R. 2 in exchange for $60 billion to Ukraine. I told him yesterday in his office that I would vacate the chair, that that is absolutely unacceptable.”
In this image, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center right, and U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi shake hands during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Saturday, April 30, 2022 (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP).
“And we actually have the power of the purse. We’re the ones that are in control and we need to control the negotiations. I reiterated those same points this morning. So the ball is in his court,” she added.
Greene’s harsh assessment of Johnson’s tactics arose as Johnson decided that he would stick with the budget deal he struck with Schumer.
Johnson told reporters, “Our top-line agreement remains. We are getting our next steps together, and we are working towards a robust appropriations process. So stay tuned for all of that.”
Rep. Bob Good (R-VA), chairman of the Freedom Caucus, said although he “vehemently” opposes the spending framework, it is a “ridiculous supposition” that Johnson may be ousted over it.
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.
