House Democrats protected House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s effort to oust him on Wednesday after he pushed forward $95 billion in foreign military aid spending, including $61 billion for the Ukraine proxy war.
The House voted overwhelmingly 359-43 to table Greene’s effort, with only 32 Democrats and 11 Republicans voting against the motion. In contrast, every Democrat voted to oust Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as speaker last year after Matt Gaetz (R-FL) filed a motion to vacate.
According to The New York Times, members of the minority party in the House have never before voted to prop up the other party’s speaker, and the move demonstrates strong bipartisanship for foreign interventions. Democrats had signaled that they would protect Johnson if he held a vote on Ukraine aid.
Greene and a few other Republicans have been critical of Johnson for putting forward the foreign military aid bills without getting any concessions on border and migration policies. “Given a choice between advancing Republican priorities or allying with Democrats to preserve his own personal power, Johnson regularly chooses to ally himself with Democrats,” she said on the floor of the House.
After the vote, Greene told reporters that the Democrats “now control Speaker Johnson.”
Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), the top Democrat in the House, said the vote was a show of bipartisanship. “Our decision to stop Marjorie Taylor Greene from plunging the House of Representatives and the country into further chaos is rooted in our commitment to solve problems for everyday Americans in a bipartisan manner,” he said.
