Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene warned Speaker of the House Mike Johnson that she was "not backing off at all" in her quest to remove him from power - arguing that his effort to move ahead a bipartisan Ukrainian aid package was "the most egregious things he could do."
Greene told CNN that many Republicans are "furious that our so-called Christian conservative, Republican Speaker of the House did this to them," in reference to Johnson working with Democrats on a $1.2 trillion funding bill that prevented a partial government shutdown.
"[Johnson] literally turned into Mitch McConnell's twin and worse. He's a Democrat," Greene told CNN. "There's not even any daylight between him and Nancy Pelosi at this point."
House Republicans currently hold the narrowest majority in the history of Congress and can only afford to lose one vote on any given piece of legislation. After Johnson introduced the bipartisan funding package, Greene introduced a motion to vacate which could remove the Speaker from power.
Many within the Republican party have warned that with such a narrow majority, removing Johnson could lead to Democratic Representative Hakeem Jeffries taking control of the House leadership - something which Greene characterized as a "stupid lie."
For Greene and other hardline conservatives, funding Ukraine's resistance to the Russian invasion is a non-starter. In the past, Johnson has gotten bills through Congress, with bipartisan support, through a process called "suspension of rules." Under the suspension of rules, floor debate is limited and amendments are banned - but the bills must be passed with a ⅔ majority.
"Let me tell you, when he forces that vote, again, under suspension with no amendments, and funds Ukraine and people find out how angry their constituents are about it, that's going to move the needle even more," she told CNN.
"I'm not saying I have a red line or a trigger, and I'm not saying I don't have a red line or trigger. And I think that's just where I'm at right now. But I'm going to tell you right now: Funding Ukraine is probably one of the most egregious things that he can do."
Johnson acknowledged Greene's exasperation during a recent Fox News appearance but emphasized that this was a reality of working within a divided House.
"These are not the perfect pieces of legislation that you and I and Marjorie would draft if we had the ability to do it differently," he told pundit Trey Gowdy. "But with the smallest margin in U.S. history, we're sometimes going to get legislation that we don't like."
