US House Speaker Removal Fails... Democrats Also Say "Save Johnson"

An attempt to remove House Speaker Mike Johnson, pushed by hardline Republican lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives, failed. Not only Republican members of the majority party in the House but also Democratic members of the minority party supported Johnson, who is a Republican, and blocked his ouster.

Republican U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene
[Photo by AP News]

According to The New York Times (NYT) and others, Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene demanded a vote on the resolution to remove Speaker Johnson, which she introduced, during the plenary session on the 8th (local time). However, a motion to postpone the vote was put forward, and the result of the vote was 359 in favor and 43 against, passing the motion.

Unlike the vote to remove then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy last year, a flood of votes from Democrats came to save Republican Speaker Johnson. It was confirmed that 163 Democrats voted in favor. The NYT reported, "All but 39 Democrats voted to block the attempt to oust Speaker Johnson." On the other hand, only 11 Republican lawmakers voted to proceed with the ouster vote. When Representative Greene proposed the removal vote that day, boos erupted from various places.

Mike Johnson, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, affiliated with the Republican Party
[Photo by AP]

Greene, a hardline MAGA member known as the "High Heel Trump," has been advocating for Johnson's removal since last month, citing Johnson's leadership in passing the Ukraine-Israel package support budget bill, which faced significant opposition within the Republican Party. Greene stated on the podcast War Room the day before, "What I demand is simple. We must act like Republicans," and argued, "We must prevent the government from being used for politics."

In response, Democratic House Majority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who collaborated with Speaker Johnson to pass the related bill, publicly declared, "We will save Speaker Johnson if there is an attempt to oust him." Among local media, analyses have been emerging that Johnson will not be removed due to fatigue from the leadership vacuum following McCarthy's removal last year, former President Trump's support for Johnson, and Democratic protection.

The NYT also reported that even conservative Republican lawmakers like Matt Gaetz, who led McCarthy's removal, have expressed concerns about removing the Speaker again. At that time, Democratic lawmakers joined the effort to oust McCarthy, who was pushing for an impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden, leading to the first-ever removal of a House Speaker in U.S. congressional history.

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