In Bold Display of Bipartisanship, Democrats Tell Johnson They’ve Got His Back

WASHINGTON — The House Democratic leadership on Tuesday said if Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., proceeds with introducing a motion to oust Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., they will muster enough support to table and effectively kill the measure.

The revelation, capping weeks of speculation after passage of the Ukraine aid bill before the Passover recess, came in the form of a joint statement from House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., Tuesday morning.

In it, they referenced the bipartisan vote in favor of providing military aid to Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific and humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza and other strife-torn places, calling it an example of putting “people over politics” and finding “common ground with traditional Republicans” in order to deliver results.

“At the same time, House Democrats have aggressively pushed back against MAGA extremism. We will continue to do just that,” they said.

“At this moment, upon completion of our national security work, the time has come to turn the page on this chapter of Pro-Putin Republican obstruction,” they continued.

Should Greene involve a motion to vacate the chair, “it will not succeed,” the Democratic leaders said.

Word that the statement was coming was tipped about an hour earlier, as House Republicans were wrapping up their weekly conference meeting at the Capitol Hill Club, directly next door to the headquarters of the Republican National Committee.

Most members ignored the reporters gathered on the sidewalk as the meeting adjourned.

Meanwhile, House Republican Leaders, including Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., and Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., headed to the large TV studio in the basement of the Capitol for their weekly briefing with reporters.

Asked his reaction to the Democrats’ statement, Johnson said, “First I’ve heard of it.”

Gathering his thoughts, he added, “I have to do my job. We have to do what we believe to be the right thing, [and] what the country needs right now is a functioning Congress … and a Congress that works well, works together and does not hamper its own ability to solve these problems.

“We saw what happened with the motion to vacate the last time [it was used]; Congress was closed for three weeks. No one can afford for that to happen again,” Johnson said.

“So we need people who are serious about the job here to do that job. Get it done. And I have to do what I believe is right, every day, and let the chips fall where they may,” he said.

Asked whether a deal was made with Democrats in the run-up to the vote on Ukraine aid, Johnson answered with a firm “no.”

“I was laser focused on getting the supplemental done,” he continued. “Of course, I had colleagues from both parties come up to me on the floor of the House ahead of the vote who said they weren’t going to stand for any attempt to shut down the government over it. I’ve acknowledged that.

“But I’ve not requested assistance from anyone. I’m not focused on that at all. No deals were made on anything at all,” Johnson said.

Greene, meanwhile, vowed to press ahead with her motion to vacate, though she did not say when she plans to trigger a vote on it.

In an incendiary post to the X social media platform, Greene declared, “Mike Johnson is officially the Democrat Speaker of the House,” calling the Democratic statement “their official endorsement” of his speakership.

“Every day, I fight the Democrat agenda destroying America and I fight for an America First Republican agenda.

“What slimy backroom deal did Johnson make for the Democrats’ support?” Greene continued.

“He should resign, switch parties, and continue voting for Biden’s open border invasion of America, endless wars, full term abortion on demand, trans agenda on children, warrantless spying on the American people, weaponizing government against President Trump and his supporters, and every other Democrat wishlist item he’s handed over,” she said.

“If the Democrats want to elect him Speaker (and some Republicans want to support the Democrats’ chosen Speaker), I’ll give them the chance to do it,” Greene continued. “I’m a big believer in recorded votes because putting Congress on record allows every American to see the truth and provides transparency to our votes. 

“Americans deserve to see the Uniparty on full display. I’m about to give them their coming out party!” she concluded.

So far, only two other Republican lawmakers have backed Greene’s threat to toss Johnson: Reps. Thomas Massie, of Kentucky, and Paul Gosar, of Arizona.

Other hardliners in the Republican Conference, many of whom enthusiastically voted to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., last year, have said that now — just six months before Election Day — is not the time to again plunge the House into chaos.

Others, like Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., almost seemed fatigued by the whole conversation.

“We are passing the Democratic agenda each and every day that we’re here,” she told reporters at the Capitol. “We have a slim majority in the House, and everything’s being passed overwhelmingly with Democrat support. So it makes no difference to me if it’s Hakeem Jeffries as speaker or Mike Johnson.”

After the Republican leaders vacated the television studio, Aguilar and Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., arrived for their briefing with reporters.

Aguilar offered a little more detail about what Democrats discussed behind closed doors at their weekly caucus meeting.

“First of all, I would say that none of the discussion we had in caucus was about ‘saving’ Mike Johnson,” Aguilar said. “The underlying motion to vacate was not discussed; the motion to table was. And there’s a distinction there.

“The role that Mike Johnson played in the lead up to [the Jan. 6, 2021, siege on the Capitol], a role we saw in our work on the Jan. 6 Committee, has not been forgotten,” he said. “However, our members want to turn the page. We don’t want to turn the clock back and let Marjorie Taylor Greene dictate the schedule and the calendar of what’s ahead.

“We want to focus on the pressing issues everyday Americans care about,” Aguilar continued. “Spending time on this just doesn’t make sense to us.”

Aguilar said Jeffries made clear that party leaders are not asking individuals to take a position that [goes against] their values. Each member is going to vote in a way that reflects the values of their district and reflects their conscience, and in a way that is guided by the Constitution.

“There’s important legislative business ahead, and that should be our focus,” he said.

Asked to respond specifically to Greene’s statement, Aguilar said, “I’m not going to try to get in the head of Marjorie Taylor Greene. I don’t know what’s going on in her head.

“Marjorie Taylor Greene is legislative artifice. … What we’re saying is we don’t need to be part of that. Let’s turn the page and focus on issues the American people care about,” he said.

Dan can be reached at [email protected] and @DanMcCue