Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., cautioned Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., about the potential ramifications of removing House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., in an interview with Newsmax on Saturday.
"She's unhappy with Speaker [Mike] Johnson, obviously, as a lot of us are," Burchett said on "America Right Now."
Referencing the ouster of former Rep. Kevin McCarthy as speaker, he said, "When myself and ... the rest of us, when we did it before, you know, we knew absolutely, positively that we would have a Republican in that speaker's chair.
"You know, we could be handing the gavel over to Hakeem Jeffries," Burchett said.
"So there's a lot of — as President [George W.] Bush would say — 'strategery' in this, and I talked to Marjorie yesterday about it. And, you know, she's not moving with it. It's just there and it's in place, and she can pull the trigger when she wants to.
"It's not a privileged motion. A privileged motion would have to be up in two days, and we would have actually stayed in Washington. It's a chess move, really, in a world of checkers. She can sort of pull [it] at any time she wants. And so, you know, it's just a strategic move on Marjorie's part to do that," Burchett added.
Greene filed a motion to vacate Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., as House speaker on Friday, NPR reported.
Greene and other hard-line conservatives 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 and Senate Friday with more Democratic support than Republican support.
Working with Democrats to avoid a shutdown is also what triggered the push to oust 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."
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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