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- The House ousted Kevin McCarthy as speaker near the end of 2023 after angering his GOP colleagues.
- Mike Johnson, his replacement, has made many of the same moves, leading to one "motion to vacate."
- Johnson appears to be safe for now as the GOP doesn't have alternatives or a desire to remove him.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has been in his leadership role for less than six months. Still, he's already made the same political moves that led to former Rep. Kevin McCarthy's historic ousting in October 2023. As a result, Johnson recently received a "motion to vacate" of his own.
But unlike McCarthy, Johnson appears to be hanging on — for now.
In the middle of the House of Representatives' vote to keep the government funded on March 22, Republican firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene filed a motion to the clerk to oust Johnson.
Unlike McCarthy's removal, Greene's motion to vacate was not "privileged," meaning there is no immediate timeframe to bring it to a vote on the House floor. Instead, Greene said was meant to be "more of a warning."
Greene's motion didn't completely come out of the blue.
As she noted to a scrum of journalists, in passing the funding legislation, Johnson ignored the 72-hour mandate McCarthy set at the beginning of his speakership to give members time to read bills before they're brought to the floor, much like how McCarthy broke it in September 2023 to narrowly avoid a government shutdown.
Several congressional Republicans also warned Johnson against bringing continuing resolutions to votes, arguing doing so only "keeps old Democratic policies in place" that were established when Rep. Nancy Pelosi served as speaker, just as McCarthy had done. Nevertheless, Johnson's already passed several continuing resolutions.
Just as far-right Republicans cautioned McCarthy against turning to Democratic votes to avoid a shutdown in 2023, which he did, Johnson relied on Democrats to keep the government afloat in March.
Though she called it a warning, Greene said she intended to take the first steps in replacing Johnson from his leadership role.
"It's time for us to go through the process, take our time, and find a new speaker of the House that will stand with Republicans and our Republican majority," she said.
It remains unclear how successful Greene will be.
She has yet to float any new names to fill Johnson's spot, and after the Republican Caucus spent weeks deadlocked trying to find a replacement for McCarthy, several Republican representatives told Business Insider they were against replacing Johnson.
With this in mind, Johnson can sleep soundly — probably in his office — knowing his job is still secure for the time being.