Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) called on Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Sunday to push for Rep. Mike Gallagher’s (R-Wis.) expulsion from Congress ahead of his scheduled departure next month to allow his district time to select a new representative.
Gallagher, the chair of the House Select Committee on China, announced last month that he would not seek reelection. On Friday, however, he said his last day would be April 19.
His scheduled departure date would leave the House GOP conference with a decidedly slim majority, perhaps for the remainder of the year; Wisconsin election law requires a special election to fill a vacancy if it occurs before the first Tuesday in April of an election year.
In an interview on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” Greene blamed Johnson for allowing Gallagher to leave early and said Republicans should work to ensure they can replace Gallagher, whose seat is “solid Republican” according to the Cook Political Report.
“Speaker Johnson should be forcing Mike Gallagher to leave early so that his district can hold a special election, and any strong Republican Speaker of the House would expel a member for leaving our razor-thin majority in such a delicate, delicate state. We cannot allow — we cannot allow this,” Greene said Sunday.
Greene slammed Johnson for praising Gallagher following his announcement Friday, adding to her growing criticism for Johnson in recent days. Greene threatened to oust Johnson from his seat Friday by filing a motion to vacate the chair, after expressing frustration that he allowed a bipartisan funding package to pass with Democratic votes, averting a partial shutdown.
“Speaker Johnson has also failed our majority because he is allowing Mike Gallagher to leave Congress after the deadline date where his district cannot hold a special election and elect a new representative for the rest of this entire Congress,” Greene said.
“Mike Gallagher betrayed all of us. And Speaker Johnson, as the one who’s responsible for our majority, praised Mike Gallagher on Friday after he announced his departure, saying that he’s great and praising him and thanking him for his service in Congress,” she added.