Greene claims she threatened Johnson with motion to vacate over border deal

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said she spoke with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Friday, threatening him with a motion to vacate over the border deal he struck with Democrats.

“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 [continuing resolution],” Greene told former White House adviser Steve Bannon in an interview.

“I told him yesterday in his office that I would vacate the chair, that that is absolutely unacceptable,” she added. “And we actually have the power of the first, we’re the ones that are in control and we need to control the negotiation. I reiterated those same points this morning, so the ball is in his court.”

Her comments come after Johnson told the press in a brief statement that he reached an agreement that would avert a partial government shutdown next week when some spending lapses on Jan. 19.

“After weeks of hard-fought negotiations, we achieved a strong top-line agreement that allows our appropriations committee and all those who work on this to complete the appropriations process,” he said. “It’s an important part of keeping the government running.”

“Our top-line agreement remains,” he added. “We are getting our next steps together, and we are working toward a robust appropriations process. So stay tuned for all that.”

---

Top Stories from The Hill

• DeSantis reaches for momentum out of Iowa
• 5 things to watch as shutdown deadline looms
• Democrats willing to help GOP Speaker save job — for a price
• Swalwell argues Trump being treated ‘better’ than normal criminal defendants

---

Some members, Greene included, were unsatisfied with the deal, even pushing the Speaker to rip up the agreement and look for alternative plans.

Greene said last Monday that she would vote against any bill resulting from the $1.6 trillion agreement, because it doesn’t include enough funding for GOP priorities, such as securing the U.S.-Mexico border. She reiterated her point Friday, claiming the deal would essentially amount to Congress moving forward with “Nancy Pelosi’s budget.”

She also argued that Johnson would be “weakening border security” by negotiating with Democrats over aid to Ukraine amid its war with Russia.

Members this week have pushed Johnson to reconsider the plan he announced over the weekend, which is in line with Fiscal Responsibility Act spending caps and includes $1.59 trillion and $69 billion in additional budget changes, The Hill previously reported.

Greene isn’t the only one threatening to vacate Johnson from his Speakership, just months after his predecessor, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif), was ousted from the position by a historic vote. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) did not rule out supporting a motion to remove Johnson but said it’s not the path he prefers.

A handful of House Democrats said they would step in to help Johnson keep his position in the event of a conservative revolt, but it would come at a price.