Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene files motion to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., has filed a motion to remove Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., as House speaker.

Greene and other hardline conservatives had expressed anger with Johnson's handling of the six remaining appropriations bills for fiscal year 2024. The package of those bills – totaling $1.2 trillion – passed the House Friday morning with more Democratic support than Republican support. It now heads to the Senate. Working with Democrats to avoid a shutdown is also what triggered the push to oust then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy last year.

"This is not personal against Mike Johnson. He's a very good man. And I have respect for him as a person. But he is not doing the job. The proof is in the vote count today," Greene told reporters Friday. "The Republican speaker of the House handed over every ounce of negotiating power to Chuck Schumer and the Democrats and went ahead and funded the government when this was our point of leverage."

Greene's motion is not privileged, meaning it's unclear if or when it will be brought to the floor for a vote. Greene told reporters after the vote that she has "started the process" of electing a new speaker, but she will not force a vote imminently.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who voted against the spending package and was aware of Greene's plans, said the move will give House Republicans time to select a new speaker. The House now heads into a two-week recess, and Greene said legislative business will continue as she works to build support for a replacement.

The push by House Republicans to oust their own elected leader – for the second time in less than six months – highlights the deep fractures within the conference. And it comes as Republicans' razor-thin majority shrinks even further,