McConnell Expresses Relief Over Expected Defeat of Bid to Oust Speaker Johnson

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) expressed relief over the upcoming attempt to strip House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) of the gavel as it is expected to fail.

“I’m relieved, as I think all of America is, that the chaos in the House will be discontinued,” Mr. McConnell told reporters on May 1.

“I think it’s a benefit to our country, a benefit to the House, a benefit to the reputation of Congress,” added Mr. McConnell, who is not running for re-election to be Senate GOP leader.

Mr. McConnell’s comments come hours after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (D-Ga.) announced she will move forward next week with her motion to vacate—which is expected to fail as Democrats are set to join most Republicans in tabling the motion.

When Ms. Greene brings the motion to the floor, leadership will be required to hold a vote on it within two days.

Ms. Greene filed it in March after Mr. Johnson pushed through a $1.2 trillion bill to fund most of the government. Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) backed the motion.

“I think every member of Congress needs to take that vote and let the chips fall where they may,” she told reporters.

Mr. Massie said he encouraged members and Mr. Johnson to take the weekend to consider how they want to vote.

In an April 19 statement previously obtained by The Epoch Times, Mr. Gosar cited numerous issues, including the crisis at the southern border, that are not being addressed under Mr. Johnson.

Mr. Gosar also lamented the foreign aid package Mr. Johnson ended up pushing through a couple of weeks ago.

“We need a speaker who puts America first rather than bending to the reckless demands of the warmongers, neo-cons, and the military-industrial complex making billions from a costly and endless war half a world away,” he said.

In a brief statement, Mr. Johnson responded: “This motion is wrong for the Republican conference, wrong for the institution, and wrong for the country.”

Mr. Johnson previously blasted the motion, warning it would bring “chaos in the House” and “wouldn’t be helpful” were it successful.

He became speaker in October after his predecessor, former Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), was ousted via a motion to vacate introduced by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.).

Eight Republicans joined all Democrats in stripping the gavel from Mr. McCarthy.

It was the first time that a motion to vacate succeeded.

Mr. Johnson has “become a man that none of us recognize,” Ms. Greene, who voted for Mr. Johnson, said.

This comes after Democrats announced that they would vote to table her motion, all but guaranteeing its failure.

Ms. Greene and Mr. Massie cited a series of actions by Mr. Johnson that led them to the decision to move forward.

Following Mr. Johnson’s move in March to pass $1.2 trillion of government funding with broad Democrat support, Ms. Greene introduced a motion to vacate against Mr. Johnson, which she described as “a warning” or “a pink slip.”

Mr. Massie said, “I think she’s gone about this in a very reasonable way. She’s given the speaker multiple chances to resign, to leave. And instead, he’s clinging to power by clinging to Democrats.”

Democrat leadership, under House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), has announced that Democrats would bail Mr. Johnson out should Ms. Greene bring her motion to vacate to the floor.

“At this moment, upon completion of our national security work, the time has come to turn the page on this chapter of Pro-Putin Republican obstruction,” Democratic leadership wrote in a statement.

“We will vote to table Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s motion to vacate the chair. If she invokes the motion, it will not succeed.”