Christian Smith
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) met Monday for nearly two hours with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) — a marathon meeting suggesting the pair are seeking a deal to calm tensions and prevent floor action on the Georgia firebrand resolution to remove Johnson from power.
The two left the president’s office separately, but with the same message: the discussion was constructive enough for them to agree to meet again on Tuesday. Greene later told reporters the meeting will take place at 12:30 p.m.
Greene declined to say whether she was ready to move forward with her plan to force her motion to vacate the resolution to the floor, but suggested she is seeking some assurances from the House speaker that he will fight harder for conservative policy priorities in negotiations with Democrats — the issue is at the heart of their criticism and their removal effort.
“I have been patient, I have been diligent, I have been firm and I have focused on the facts. And none of that has changed,” Greene, who was joined by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), another supporter of her resolution, told reporters after the meeting.
“So I just had a long discussion with the president in his office about ways to move forward to a Republican-controlled House of Representatives. We will speak to him again tomorrow, based on our discussion today.”
The comments diverge from last week, when the Georgia Republican was adamant that she would force a vote on Johnson’s impeachment this week, stressing the importance of letting her conservative colleagues know whether they support the House speaker.
“Next week I will call this motion to vacate,” Greene declared at a press conference alongside Massie, one of only two Republicans supporting her effort. “Absolutely calling it.”
“If this vote fails and the entire conference, the entire Congress, supports the one party, let me tell you something, that is not a failure, that is a victory for the American people, because it is a list of names,” Greene added later. “They deserve this list.”
But the Georgia Republican requested a Monday meeting with Johnson and said she would meet with him again on Tuesday, a sign she is considering a stay on her weeks-old motion to quash the threat.
Johnson also briefly addressed reporters after the meeting, saying he understands his critics’ political concerns but emphasized the limitations of advancing them in an administration where Democrats control the Senate and White House.
“I have said this several times, that I understand the frustration, I share it. I would really like to advance our conservative politics a lot more on a daily basis here,” Johnson said. “But the reality is that we are working with the smallest majority in US history, with a margin of one vote. This makes it very difficult, using my football metaphor as I often do, to throw touchdown passes on every play.
“Let’s keep this team together and working for the American people.”
Greene introduced her removal resolution more than a month ago and has hung it over Johnson’s head ever since.
The Georgia Republican criticized Johnson for reaching a series of legislative deals with Democrats, including legislation to fund the government, a bill to reauthorize U.S. warrantless surveillance powers and, most recently, a foreign aid package that it included billions of dollars for Ukraine.
