Mike Johnson on Marjorie Taylor Greene: 'I Don't Think About Her at All'

House Speaker Mike Johnson has said he does not think about Marjorie Taylor Greene "at all" during a Fox News appearance on Wednesday amid her ongoing effort to oust him.

The Context

On Wednesday, President Joe Biden signed into law a $95 billion foreign aid package, which provides additional military assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, after it passed Congress despite bitter opposition from Greene and other Republican hardliners.

The legislation was approved by the House in four separate bills on April 20 after Johnson, who spent months blocking similar proposals which had been backed by the Senate, gave it his support. It then passed the Senate on Tuesday by a 79-18 margin, with 15 Republicans and three progressive Democrats voting against.

Johnson's support for the package sparked a furious response from Greene who called for him to resign and on Sunday, claimed he had "betrayed Republicans by handing the gavel to Joe Biden." Greene filed a motion to vacate in March, which could trigger a House vote on whether Johnson should be ousted, but has not pushed for the resolution to be immediately taken up.

What We Know

Speaking on Jesse Watters' Fox News show on Wednesday, Johnson said: "It's very difficult when very individualistic, individual-minded Republicans don't want to move together as a block."

Watters questioned whether he was referring to Greene, a House Republican, to which Johnson replied: "I'm not going to name any names Jesse, you know who they are."

Watters later asked whether Johnson had "nightmares about her," to which the speaker said: "No, I don't think about her at all."

Johnson was speaking after Greene called for his resignation following his support for a $95 billion foreign aid package, which Biden signed into law on Wednesday.

A 29-second clip from Johnson's interview was shared on X by Media Matters' Kat Abu where it received over 120,000 views.

Newsweek contacted Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's office by email at 4:15 a.m. ET on Wednesday. This article will be updated if they decide to comment.

Views

Greene's move against Johnson has sparked an angry response from some other congressional Republicans.

In an interview with CNN's Lauren Fox on Tuesday, GOP Senator Thom Tillis hit out at Greene, commenting: "I think she is uninformed, she is a total waste of time, and I'm embarrassed to have actually lived geographically in her district at one time before she was there."

"She is a horrible leader. She is dragging our brand down. She, not the Democrats, are the biggest risk to us getting back to a majority," he added, according to The Daily Beast.

Utah Senator Mitt Romney said: "There are some folks who try to get themselves as many tweets, as many followers, as they can. A lot of sound and fury signifying nothing."

However, speaking to Newsweek, Thomas Gift, who heads the Centre on U.S. Politics at University College London, argued Greene better reflects the Republican grassroots than her GOP critics in Congress.

He said: "Marjorie Taylor Greene represents today's brand of the Republican Party more than moderates like Mitt Romney. Trump has remade the GOP in his image, but it's fringe politicians like MTG that carry water for him in Washington.

"She, along with the rest of the 'blow up the system' wing of the GOP, is not only closer to the median Newsmax-watching, MAGA-hat-wearing conservative in ruby red districts across the country, they also hold more political clout in a nearly evenly divided House, with the unchecked power to call a snap vote on the speakership. One vote on Ukraine doesn't change that."

What's Next?

In January 2023, Kevin McCarthy agreed that just one House representative would be allowed to trigger a motion to vacate as part of his bid for the speakership. The following October, he was removed after a motion to vacate was filled by Florida Republican Matt Gaetz, triggering a vote he lost 216-210, and later that month he was replaced by Johnson.

If Greene, or another GOP hardliner, push for a motion to vacate to be taken up it would trigger a vote on whether Johnson remains speaker, at which point his fate could well depend on whether House Democrats move to save him or not.