Third Time’s The Charm For A New Speaker?

This past Friday, Congresswoman Majorie Taylor Greene (R-GA 14) filed a resolution to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA 4) from his leadership position. This comes five months after Johnson was elected Speaker following former Speaker Kevin McCarthy being terminated as Speaker.

Greene filed the resolution to oust Speaker Johnson after he supported a $1.2T spending deal that averted a potential government shutdown until the end of September—which will be peak election season. The bill passed the House 286-134 and Senate 74-24. For the past few months, Congress has passed short-term spending bills that would keep the government open temporarily. This bill is more long-term because it funds the government for 6 months.

“I’m not saying that it won’t happen in two weeks or it won’t happen in a month or who knows when,” Greene said. “But I am saying the clock has started. It’s time for our conference to choose a new speaker.” Greene then added that her comments were “more of a warning than a pink slip.” If that is the case, why did this have to be taken to extreme lengths?

The next day, Greene then took to X claiming Johnson was attempting to censor her and tried to fundraiser off of her resolution. Which is very similar to what Matt Gaetz (R-FL 1) did when McCarthy was vacated as Speaker. However it was reported on March 24 that Republicans would not support Greenes resolution vacating Johnson as Speaker.

It would have been bad for the country to have to sit through more political theatrics for a 3rd speakership vote. Politicians are human. None of them are perfect. They all have flaws just like the rest of us. If Congress would go forth to vacate the Speaker again would be catastrophic. The 118th session is already going down as one of the most unproductive in American history. Also, with the early retirement of Ken Buck and the resignation of Mike Gallagher, which will take effect on April 19th, the Republicans will be left with a one-seat majority in the House. They cannot afford to keep losing seats. If they keep this up, the Democrats will take control of the House without an election ever being held. That would go down as the most embarrassing moment for the GOP in the last 100 years. Since 2023, Democrats have hit Republicans hard for their “inability to govern.”

At this rate, Republicans in Congress cannot afford to vacate the chair for the second time in less than 6 months. If Republicans want any chance of winning at the ballot box come November, they need to prove to voters they can effectively govern. The political theatrics won’t blend well with an unpopular former President who has received multiple indictments leading the ticket nationwide. 

While Biden is also vastly unpopular amongst the electorate outside his base, Biden will be perceived as the lesser of the two evils and can sway over moderate and independent voters. If the GOP keeps this up, they will be in for one of their worst performances in a presidential election. Losing control of the House due to retirements/resignations is not an option. The best Republicans can do is work together to accomplish their policy goals; prevent indoctrination in public schools, secure the southern border, and provide tax relief to Americans. Afterall, that is all part of their job.