House kills motion to vacate Johnson from speakership

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson in the U.S. Capitol's Statuary Hall on Wednesday, May 8.

Speaker Mike Johnson will keep his job after the House voted to kill a motion to oust him Wednesday evening after a dramatic showdown that took less than an hour.

GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene introduced the motion to vacate after threatening to move forward with trying to remove Johnson for several weeks, although the timing took lawmakers by surprise.

Remember: A motion to vacate is a resolution to remove the speaker by declaring the speakership to be vacant. It was a rarely used procedural until former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s removal in October.

Here’s how it unfolded:

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Rep. Thomas Massie speak to members of the press on the steps of the House of Representatives at the US Capitol on Wednesday, May 8.

While nearly a dozen Republicans voted against tabling the motion to vacate, the vast majority were outraged Wednesday night that Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene went through with a move that was going to fail and show party disunity ahead of the election.

“She’s trying to take out our Speaker of the United States Congress over her preference on a policy decision,” Rep. John Duarte said. “We are protecting the world from her inate behavior. I am surprised she has even one ally. Thomas Massie should be embarrassed of himself.”

Rep. Dusty Johnson of South Dakota called Greene’s behavior “destructive” and warned it would sow discord.

“All of us in life get to decide how we handle disappointment. You can be productive or you can be destructive. Ms. Taylor Greene is choosing destructive,” he said. “We know that this motion is not going to do one thing to make America stronger. It’s not going to do one thing to deliver a conservative victory. It’s going to sow discord and dissent.” 

But Republicans who backed the House speaker say they are divided about whether or not to punish those who voted against tabling the resolution.  

Duarte said with a narrow majority, administering consequences is difficult. “Her voters need to deliver consequences to her,” he added.

Johnson also argued that consequences may not work, adding that “people need to sit down and analyze what’s possible and make the institution stronger.”

“There may be people interested in punishment. I’m not interested in punishment. That doesn’t work,” Johnson said. “For me, my question is what rules do we need in place so the House can function.”

Meanwhile, Rep. Marc Molinaro, a vulnerable New York Republican, said there should be consequences but he wasn’t ready to commit to punishing Greene now.

“At some point, accountability needs to be real, but I think what we learned today was that no amount of noise overshadows the truth and the truth is that a good number of us just want to get back to work,” Molinaro said.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks to members of the press after Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene sought to remove Johnson from his leadership position on Wednesday, May 08.

The House on Wednesday rejected a motion calling for Republican Speaker Mike Johnson’s ouster, rebuffing an effort by one of the GOP leader’s most vocal critics, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.

The 359-43 vote on a motion to table Greene’s measure required the help of Democrats, given the speaker’s narrow majority. The vote could quiet calls for Johnson’s removal among conservative hardliners, who have been angry about his support of a $95 billion foreign aid package that passed last month.

Johnson’s divided conference was evident on Wednesday as 11 Republicans sided with Greene, while 196 opposed her effort. Additionally, 163 Democrats voted to table Greene’s motion, effectively protecting the speaker. Twenty-eight members from both parties either didn’t vote or voted present.

See a detailed breakdown of how each member voted

CNN’s Manu Raju questions Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene about forcing another vote against Johnson in the future on Wednesday, May 8.

GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene did not rule out forcing another vote against Speaker Mike Johnson and suggested that former President Donald Trump’s statement on the vote supports the potential for a motion to vacate at some point — despite the fact that Trump urged members to vote to kill her resolution.

Pressed by CNN’s Manu Raju on whether she would trigger a vote again this Congress, Greene did not answer directly, but said she is “thankful” for Trump’s support and pointed to the fact that he said on Truth Social that “at some point” Republicans may be in a position of voting on a motion to vacate.

Greene said she was not surprised by the outcome of the vote.

“No, not at all, I fully expected the vote count today,” she said. “This is exactly what the American people needed to see.” 

Greene said she initially supported Johnson, touting his Christian conservative background and that he was “radically pro-life,” but that Johnson changed “ever since he’s taken the gavel” and that her support for him dissolved following the passage of the second tranche of funding bills in March. She said the funding of Ukraine was the dealbreaker for her. 

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries comments on Rep.Marjorie Taylor Greene's attempt to remove House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday, May 8,

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Democrats’ decision to bolster Speaker Mike Johnson with the votes needed to keep his leadership post was “rooted in our commitment to solve problems for everyday Americans in a bipartisan manner.”

“Our decision to stop Marjorie Taylor Greene from plunging the House of Representatives and the country into further chaos is rooted in our commitment to solve problems for everyday Americans in a bipartisan manner,” he said. 
“The vote clearly speaks for itself. It was a vote of conscience. It was overwhelming. It was decisive, and we need to move forward as a Congress to solve problems everyday Americans,” Jeffries added, taking clear aim at the instigator of the events of the past week.

Jeffries said they just had one ask of their colleagues across the aisle in exchange for their vote – isolate the “Putin wing” of the Republican Party.

“The only thing we ask of our House Republican colleagues is for traditional Republicans to further isolate the extreme MAGA Republican wing of the GOP, which has visited nothing but chaos and dysfunction on the American people,” he said. “Isolate the performance artists, the pro-Putin wing of the Republican Party and the MAGA extremists so we can get things done for the American people.”

At the end of the vote series, House Speaker Mike Johnson and GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene spoke on the House floor.

The interaction came after Greene’s effort to oust Johnson failed dramatically and quickly. 

Earlier this week: Johnson and Greene met for hours earlier this week — both on Monday and Tuesday.

Johnson called the talks “productive” and said he was “optimistic” they could get to a resolution. But, after leaving his office on Tuesday, Greene said that Johnson had a “pretty short” window to act on a list of demands. She didn’t give a heads-up before bringing up the motion to vacate today.

CNN’s Haley Talbot, Clare Foran, Morgan Rimmer and Lauren Fox contributed reporting to this post.

Former President Donald Trump said he supported the vote to kill the motion to vacate in the House of Representatives.

As Trump looks to return to the White House, he made the case that this move shows “DISUNITY, which will be portrayed as CHAOS” and “will negatively affect everything!”

“I absolutely love Marjorie Taylor Greene … However, right now, Republicans have to be fighting the Radical Left Democrats, and all the Damage they have done to our Country,” Trump said in the post on Truth Social as the House was voting this afternoon.

While some Republicans were fuming over Greene’s move, others used humor to get through the moment. 

“It’s times like these we need a bar in this place,” quipped GOP Rep. Dave Joyce as he walked off the floor. 

Even Speaker Mike Johnson was relaxed and joking with members on floor, who were playfully teasing him. 

One Republican member told CNN they joked to Johnson about putting up an obscure member — Rep. Mark Amodei — for the top job. But Amodei said that would diminish the value of a signed baseball he has from Kevin McCarthy.

Johnson laughed and told Amodei: “Wouldn’t want to diminish your eBay value.” 

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene speaks on the house floor on Wednesday, May 8.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene did not give any advance notice to House Speaker Mike Johnson or his office that she was planning on following through with the motion to vacate during this vote series, a GOP source said.

But Johnson always knew of the possibility of it coming up at some point this week and he had a plan in place, which was to immediately move to table the motion, so Johnson was ready when it did come up. 

Speaker of the House Mike Johnsonspeaks to members of the press at the US Capitol on Wednesday, May 8.

House Speaker Mike Johnson looked forward after a vote to keep his job on Wednesday and stressed that the country needs a “functioning Congress.”

He called the motion to vacate him from his position a distraction and stressed that he would keep fighting to pass issues important to the conservative agenda.

“Hopefully this is the end of the personality politics and the frivolous character assassination that has defined the 118th Congress,” the Louisiana Republican said. “It’s regrettable, it’s not who we are as Americans and we’re better than this.”

It comes after the House voted to kill a motion to remove him from the speakership quickly after it was introduced on Wednesday evening by GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

The vote to kill the effort to oust him succeeded with the help of Democrats.

“The speaker of the House serves the whole House,” Johnson said but added that it is his priority to keep the Republican House majority and win more seats in the November election.

While a failed vote allows Johnson to argue that it is time to move on from the issue, support from Democrats opens him up to even more criticism from his right flank. Last week, Johnson said he did not request the help of Democrats and that he was focused on doing his job.

Eleven Republicans voted against tabling the motion to vacate House Speaker Mike Johnson, supporting an up-and-down vote on the measure.

These members represent the hard-right of the party and some of them voted against the measure for procedural reasons, according to CNN’s Manu Raju.

Thirty-two Democrats joined those Republicans in voting to advance the motion to vacate. Seven members voted present.

Eleven House Republicans voted against the motion to table the motion to vacate.

They were: 

Marjorie Taylor Greene Thomas Massie Warren Davidson  Barry Moore Andy Biggs  Chip Roy  Alex Mooney  Victoria Spartz  Paul Gosar Eli Crane  Eric Burlison

House Speaker Mike Johnson is interviewed after a news conference on the steps of the US Capitol on Wednesday, May 8.

The House has voted to table — or kill — the resolution to remove House Speaker Mike Johnson. That means the speaker will keep his job.

The vote on a motion to table succeeded with the help of Democrats, sparing Johnson from losing the speakership. The vote was 359 to 43. 

196 Republicans voted to table and 11 Republicans voted against tabling, including:

163 Democrats voted to table and 32 Democrats voted against. 

The post was updated with the vote count.

The House is voting now to table – or kill – Marjorie Taylor Greene’s resolution to oust Speaker Mike Johnson from his leadership post. 

This vote is expected to succeed with the help of Democrats, sparing Johnson from losing the speakership. It requires a simple majority to succeed. 

Members of the House on both sides of the aisle booed GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene when she announced that she was introducing a motion to remove Speaker Mike Johnson.

She paused at the chorus of boos and looked around at the other members in the chamber.

“This is the uniparty for the American people watching,” she said, pointing in the air.

Some context: In the wake of Johnson’s push to pass a major foreign aid package over the objections of hardline conservatives, House Democratic leadership announced that Democrats would help Johnson keep his job by voting to table if the issue arose.

The House will vote to table — or kill — the motion to vacate Speaker Mike Johnson Wednesday evening, according to two leadership sources.

GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene called up the resolution.

House leadership has two days to move on the motion, but members will vote on an effort to kill it today, the sources say.

House Republicans were completely caught off guard by GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s decision to trigger her motion to vacate against House Speaker Mike Johnson, multiple Republican sources told CNN.

House GOP leadership did not see this coming and thought that after the two productive meetings between Johnson and Greene that there was at least more time before any next steps were taken, the sources added. 

“I was shocked,” GOP Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia told CNN. 

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene gestures towards a photo of House Speaker Mike Johnson during a news conference alongside Rep. Thomas Massie at the US Capitol on May 1.

House Speaker Mike Johnson is expected to confront a vote over his ouster, a pivotal moment that presents a major leadership test for the Louisiana Republican even though he is expected to prevail.

House Democratic leaders have said that Democrats will vote to kill the effort led by GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, effectively ensuring Johnson won’t lose his job.

A failed vote will give Johnson an opportunity to argue that it is time to move on from the issue. But support from Democrats will open Johnson up to even more criticism from his right flank.

It’s not yet clear how many Republicans will vote against Johnson – the higher the number, the more of a blow it could prove to be to the speaker’s standing within the House GOP conference.

Greene has said she will force a vote in the coming days, escalating pressure on Johnson and setting up a major showdown on the House floor. Even if the vote fails, as expected, it still threatens to intensify divisions among House Republicans, who control a razor-thin majority.

Many Republicans oppose the push to oust Johnson and do not want to see the conference devolve into bitter infighting like it did after former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted in a historic and unprecedented vote last year.

Read more about the ouster threat here.

Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has triggered a motion to vacate House Speaker Mike Johnson — a process that led to Kevin McCarthy’s ouster from the leadership post just a few months ago.

What is a motion to vacate? It is a resolution to remove the speaker by declaring the speakership to be vacant. It was a rarely used procedural until McCarthy’s removal in October but Johnson has faced increasing threats over its use in the last few months.

How does an effort to oust the speaker unfold? Any member can file a House resolution to remove the speaker, as Greene did. According to House precedent, the resolution is considered to be privileged, a designation that gives it priority over other issues. Following Greene’s move today, the speaker is required to put the resolution on the legislative schedule within two legislative days.

How many votes are needed? A vote on the resolution to remove the speaker would require a majority vote to succeed and oust the speaker from their leadership post.

Remember: Republicans hold a razor-thin majority in the House and with a few hardliners within the party against Johnson, he would need the support of Democrats to keep his position.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, center, speaks with reporters after meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson on May 7.

GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene called up a resolution to remove Republican Speaker Mike Johnson on the House floor Wednesday evening, a move that starts the clock to force a vote over ousting the Louisiana Republican from his leadership post. It’s a major challenge to the speaker even though he is expected to prevail with help from Democrats. 

Now that Greene has put the process in motion, the House will have to consider the issue within two legislative days. House GOP leaders are expected to quickly take up and move to kill Greene’s motion, which could happen as soon as today. 

A floor vote to oust Johnson would require a majority to succeed, but a motion to table — or kill — the resolution is expected to be offered and voted on first.

In the wake of Johnson’s push to pass a major foreign aid package over the objections of hardline conservatives, House Democratic leadership announced that Democrats would help Johnson keep his job by voting to table if the issue arose.

A failed vote will give Johnson an opportunity to argue that it is time to move on from the issue. But support from Democrats will open Johnson up to even more criticism from his right flank.

Two other Republicans are publicly supporting Greene’s motion to vacate: GOP Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Paul Gosar of Arizona.

Many Republicans oppose the push to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson, not wanting to see the conference devolve into bitter infighting like it did after former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted in a historic and unprecedented vote last year.

Some Republican House members voiced concerns Tuesday about empowering Greene any further by giving into any demands.

“I think if you negotiate with two members who want something, you are going to lose 30 members of the conference who want something else and I think he knows that,” Rep. Kelly Armstrong, a North Dakota Republican, said. “I would always hesitate to agree to anything when you know the goal posts are going to move within five minutes.”

Rep. Carlos Gimenez, a Florida Republican, said, “I don’t deal with terrorists.”

“I don’t deal with people who are threatening me. Never have, Never will,” Gimenez said. “If I don’t, I don’t think he should either.”

But a narrow majority has given Johnson few options in this moment as the speaker wants to avoid the spectacle on the floor months ahead of the election.

“The speaker is dealing in practical arts here not philosophical ones, so I am going to stand by him in his decisions,” said Rep. John Duarte, a California Republican. “I think it is utterly regrettable that these very small minority of members are putting the speaker in this very difficult spot at a time when we should be focusing on the things that matter to the American people.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson departs after speaking at a press conference in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, May 7.

Conservative anger at House Speaker Mike Johnson intensified after he worked to help pass a major foreign aid package with assistance for Ukraine last month.

Johnson has defended his leadership against the threat, saying that he will not resign and warning that a vote to oust him could cause chaos in the House.

“This motion is wrong for the Republican Conference, wrong for the institution, and wrong for the country,” the speaker said in a statement after Greene announced she would move forward with a vote.

GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia has been dangling the threat of an ouster vote for weeks. She originally filed the motion to oust Johnson in March amid conservative anger over his handling of the government funding fight.