A third House Republican has joined an initiative to remove Speaker Mike Johnson from his position, potentially providing enough votes to oust the Republican leader unless Democrats intervene to support him.
Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona endorsed the “motion to vacate” proposed by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, both Republicans confirmed on Friday. If presented as a privileged resolution, it would trigger a vote within two legislative days on whether to remove Johnson as speaker. A simple majority vote would be required for the motion to succeed.
Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky previously joined the motion to vacate earlier this week, but he has expressed a desire not to compel a vote on it. Instead, he is advocating for Speaker Johnson to voluntarily resign. The three Republicans, along with other hard-right members of the conference, are angered by the speaker's decision to bring up votes aimed at providing aid for Ukraine, especially without including U.S. border security provisions.
If brought to the floor, the three Republican votes would be sufficient to oust Johnson as speaker if all Democrats oppose him. Several Democrats have suggested they would intervene to support Johnson, but Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., stated on Friday that “the prerequisite to the conversation” about preserving Johnson's position is that the foreign aid bills pass “in totality.”
