Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) officially owes his gavel to the Democrats. A resounding 163 Democrats opted to maintain Mike Johnson’s coalition government with the indispensable co-Speaker Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), voting to set aside a motion from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green (R-GA) aimed at removing Johnson from his position. The momentous vote of 359 to 43 solidifies Johnson’s speakership, at least for the time being.
final count included seven Democrats voting present and eleven abstaining, in addition to ten Republicans who chose not to vote. Ultimately, only 32 Democrats expressed enough dissatisfaction with Johnson’s leadership of the House to support Greene’s resolution to strip him of his gavel. Democrats have been successful under Johnson’s guidance. Jeffries stated on Sunday that Democrats have effectively controlled the House agenda with Johnson at the helm.
“Even though we’re in the minority, we effectively have been governing as if we were in the majority because we continue to provide a majority of the votes necessary to get things done,” he told CBS. “Those are just the facts.”
Greene submitted her motion to vacate the chair on Wednesday evening. She presented a detailed list of Johnson’s violations that prompted her motion, while her colleagues jeered and ridiculed her throughout the process. As anticipated, Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), acting on behalf of Johnson, promptly moved to table the motion – effectively putting an end to it.
Jeffries and his leadership team had assured that they would secure the votes to support Johnson, but their commitment did not go beyond the initial tabling vote. Greene, along with her partner Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), or any other Republican member, could call for another vote, a possibility that Democrats have not revealed how they would react to.