House Republicans Set The Stage For Another Total Meltdown

WASHINGTON ― The House of Representatives could be on the brink of another meltdown brought on by Republican infighting.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has threatened to trigger a no-confidence vote against House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in a repeat of the leadership squabble that turned the House into a circus for several weeks last fall.

It’s essentially the same drama as before: Greene and other House hard-liners are mad at Johnson for avoiding a government shutdown by allowing the House to vote on a funding bill that passed with Democratic support.

“Mike Johnson worked with [Democratic Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer rather than with us, and gave Joe Biden and the Democrats everything they wanted,” Greene wrote in a Tuesday letter that complained about the government’s supposed “trans agenda” and the legal plight of Donald Trump supporters who rioted at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Greene and members of the far-right House Freedom Caucus argue that if Johnson drove a harder bargain with Democrats, who control the Senate and the White House, Republicans would force them to accept GOP policy priorities. In reality, the likelier outcome would be a government shutdown that voters would blame on Republicans.

Last month, Greene filed a resolution to oust Johnson, but declined to force a vote, describing her move as a warning. Her letter on Tuesday amplified the warning but didn’t say if she would invoke the “privilege” afforded to House members to make the vote actually happen.

Without saying so directly, Greene suggested Johnson’s fate could hinge on whether he allows the House to vote on a $60 billion military aid package to help Ukraine defend itself from Russia’s invasion. The money is a top