'Unprecedented': GOP and Dems alike rage against Marjorie Taylor Greene’s push to oust Speaker Johnson

When former Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-California) was ousted as speaker in early October 2023, House Democrats gave him no support whatsoever. Progressive Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington) told reporters that Democrats owed McCarthy nothing.

Now, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) is also facing the possibility of being ousted thanks to a "motion to vacate" introduced by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia). But unlike McCarthy, the far-right Johnson is being defended by both Republicans and Democrats.

Prominent Democrats ranging from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) to Rep. Ro Khanna (D-California) have said they will vote against removing Johnson as speaker. And CNN's Manu Raju reports that Greene's "push to oust" Johnson as speaker is "prompting sharp pushback among many" Republicans — from Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-New York) to Rep. Don Bacon (R-Nebraska).

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Molinaro is vehemently critical of Greene, telling CNN, "I think this is all about wanting more attention and not producing actual results."

Bacon told CNN, "98 percent of us find it disgusting…. We're tired of the chaos. We're tired of the anarchy."

Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wisconsin) told CNN, "This is not a junior high school reality television show.”

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky), meanwhile, is among the Republicans who has joined Greene in calling for Johnson to be ousted as speaker.

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Commenting on the fact that Democrats appear likely to help save Johnson's speakership, Massie told CNN, "This is unprecedented, that somebody's foe in leadership — the leadership of the Democrat Party — would offer to save the leader of the Republican Party."

When CNN asked Rep. Pete Aguilar why members of his party are rushing to Johnson's defense — something that didn't happen with McCarthy in 2023 — the California Democrat referenced the speaker's support for a bipartisan foreign aid bill and responded, "I think what we saw with former Speaker McCarthy was he wanted to blame Democrats the entire time…. I disagree with Speaker Johnson in a number of ways, but he lived up to his commitments to put this bill on the floor."

Democrat Jayapal told CNN, "I think that we have to be clear that we can't continue to do this every time they want to vacate the speaker."

READ MORE: 'Bless those who persecute you': Johnson invokes Bible amid Greene's ouster threat

Watch the CNN video below or at this link.