“Greene's Gambit,” and The GOP's Brewing Leadership Showdown

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CATHERINE HUGHES: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia recently made a move to oust Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana. Known for numerous controversies during her term, the move has been criticized by even her far-right allies. In light of the party’s recent ousting of Rep. Kevin McCarthy, unity in the Republican party has been complicated just in time for an election year.

On March 22, 2024, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene threatened Speaker Mike Johnson’s leadership with a motion to vacate. At the time, it was unclear when or if she planned to activate the resolution. But in a letter posted to her X account, she calls the motion a “warning” to Johnson. The GOP is forced once again to face the internal division that lost them their previous speaker.

Greene is from Georgia’s 14th district. She has made a controversial name for herself in Washington gaining notoriety for touting racist conspiracy theories about Jewish space lasers. At home, she was plagued with allegations of “carpetbagging” during her first election. She is originally from and ran in a suburb of Atlanta, but moved to northwest Georgia when it was clear she could not win in the suburban district. There was also controversy surrounding her supporters’s treatment of her Democratic opponent.

Her filing of the motion to vacate came in the middle of voting on a $1.2 million funding package that would keep the government open. The package passed, despite Republican anger over the content. Greene’s motion is the same type of motion that led to the ousting of McCarthy. 

On April 9, 2024, Greene renewed her commitment to her motion with a letter outlining her concerns with Johnson, namely funding for Ukraine and elections in November. She is attempting to gather more Republican support for her cause. She believes this support will come when the House votes to send more aid to Ukraine. Johnson said he shares in Greene’s concerns about the Republican’s razor-thin majority and reliance on Democrats

Greene believes that Johnson is not serving their party and is damaging their narrow majority. One of her paramount concerns is the possibility of sending more money to Ukraine, which she strongly rejects. Greene was critical of her far-right allies for ousting McCarthy, whom she started supporting late in his tenure. At the time of her filing the motion, Republicans widely did not support her move, especially Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana and Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida who engineered McCarthy’s removal.

This motion and its surrounding controversy is indicative of the larger fracturing of the Republican party. After McCarthy’s ouster, it took voting on three different nominees for Speaker, before the Republicans were able to pass Johnson. This was a long, three week process that exposed Republicans' disunity to the nation. Because of this, Republicans are wary to support Greene and reignite this issue. 

Many believe this could lead to Democrats getting their Speaker, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, through. Greene is not worried about this, saying, “It’s simple math.” This math rests on no more Republican representatives retiring and Republicans being united under one speaker, which seems to be an increasingly difficult task.

As for Greene, redistricting could threaten her chances in November. Her district has recently been drawn closer to Atlanta and includes two large black suburbs. In her most recent election, she was against Democrat Marcus Flowers. The race was relatively uncompetitive given the rural nature of the district, but that didn’t stop Flowers from raising over $15.6 million. While Flowers will not be running in Georgia’s 14th for the next election, Greene’s next opponent could benefit from the momentum Flowers gathered coupled with the redistricting. 

It is obvious that Republican infighting will hurt the GOP, damaging their current policy goals and chances at improving their majority in November. While Greene perhaps wishes to rally the party under a sufficiently Republican speaker, her motion will do anything but unify the already fractured party. 

Catherine Hughes is a staff writer for On the Record. She is a freshman studying International Politics in the School of Foreign Service.