Johnson, Greene set for another pivotal meeting on future of speaker ouster efforts

May 07, 2024

After a two-hour-long meeting Monday with the speaker, Marjorie Taylor Greene — and Capitol Hill writ large — could get a much better sense Tuesday of the future of her efforts to oust Mike Johnson from the House’s top spot.

Greene (R-Ga.), along with ally Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), met with Johnson in his office, but left without much in terms of steps forward. The trio are set to meet again at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Green is staying mum on what demands she’s making of Johnson, but our colleague Rachael Bade broke them down. The Georgia Republican is looking for promises of no more aid to Ukraine, stripping funding for DOJ probes into former President Donald Trump and automatic spending cuts if appropriations agreements aren’t wrapped up on time.

There’s another ask at the core of her conflict with Johnson: the “Hastert Rule.” Named after now-disgraced former Speaker Dennis Hastert, it’s a pledge to not bring any legislation to the floor that doesn’t have the support from the majority of the GOP conference.

Johnson has allowed spending bills and foreign aid packages to clear the House without the backing of the majority of his conference, instead leaning on Democrats to the consternation of those in the GOP’s right flank.

These meetings between Johnson and Greene don’t mean she won’t move to vacate this week; she still reserves that right. But with Democrats pledging backup for Johnson and a hearty bloc of GOP support for the speaker, the votes do not appear to add up.

Before the midday meeting in Johnson’s office over his potential ouster, the entire House GOP Conference is set to gather for their weekly meeting first thing this morning.

Senate returns to FAA: The Senate is back Tuesday with just four days before Friday’s deadline to reauthorize the FAA. At this point, a short-term patch is looking more likely. Senators have filed nearly 100 amendments to the bill, and the chance for a deal on amendments and speeding up action on the legislation is waning.

Expect broad frustration if few or no amendments are taken up. This is one of the last major pieces of legislation expected this year, and nearly every lawmaker had something they were hoping could hitch a ride on the must-pass bill.

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