Transcript:
Mr. Speaker: For what purpose does a gentlemwoman from Georgia seek recognition?
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (MTG): Speaker pursuant to clause 2a line of rule nine, I seek recognition to give notice of my intent to raise the question of the privileges of the House. The form of the resolution is as follows.
Declaring the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives to be vacant. This is the uniparty for the American people watching.
Mr. Speaker: Gentlelady will suspend. Order! Order! The gentleman from Georgia is recognized.
MTG: Whereas the House Republican Conference elected Mike Johnson on October 25th, 2023, after three and a half weeks of trying to decide on a new speaker of the House.
Thomas Massie: Mr. Speaker, the House is not in order.
Mr. Speaker: The House will be in order. Gentleman from Georgia is recognized.
MTG: Whereas Mike Johnson sent the Republican Conference a letter making promises as to what type of Speaker he would be and outlining his plans going forward. Mike Johnson put forth seven tenants that would guide the conference under his speakership.
Restore trust by ensuring total transparency open processes and regular order order which suspend.
Mr. Speaker: The House will be in order. Gentlewoman from Georgia is recognized
MTG: To advance a comprehensive policy agenda supported by conference consensus. Three promote individual members and thus the whole team, by working to understand and emphasize each member’s unique strengths, district dynamics and challenges, and individual goals and objectives. Four, engaged members and productive working groups to formulate solutions and key policy areas and enhance our internal communications and team building. Five effectively message to persuasively inform the Republican base and the American people of our policy agenda, why we are pursuing it, and how it will ensure liberty, opportunity, and security for all Americans. Six, build and utilize eternal coalitions in the conservative ecosphere, including think tanks, policy groups and other allied organizations that can contribute to our efforts. Seven, develop and grow our majority by building upon our resources and expanding to successfully advance our conservative vision and agenda.
Whereas Speaker Johnson has not lived up to a single one of his self-imposed tenets. Where as Speaker Johnson allowed the conference only one day, rather than 72 hours, to review a 1000 plus page bill to which no amendments could be offered, rather than ensure total transparency, open processes and regular order.
Whereas Speaker Johnson worked with Democrats to produce appropriations, text, NDAA, text, and other legislative items rather than with Republicans to understand and emphasize each member’s unique strengths and engage with them.
Whereas Speaker Johnson relied on majority Democrat support to pass a two part omnibus spending bill rather than advancing a policy agenda supported by conference consensus.
Whereas on December 1st, 2023, Speaker Johnson failed to protect the Republican majority when he allowed multiple votes to remove another Republican from the House of Representatives. It was unprecedented for a member to be removed from Congress by a two thirds vote prior to conviction of a crime. To this day, the Republican expelled from the House under Speaker Johnson has not been convicted of a crime. Meanwhile, a Democrat now holds that seat.
Whereas Speaker Johnson supported fully funding abortion, the trans agenda, the climate agenda, foreign wars and Biden’s border crisis, rather than ensuring liberty, opportunity and security for all Americans.
Whereas Speaker Johnson relied on Democrat votes on at least two occasions, with the first transgression occurring on March 22nd, 2024 with the House passage of 1102, part two of the Johnson-Schumer Omnibus. And the second transgression occurring on April 20th, 2024 with House passage of H.R. 8035, the $61 billion Ukraine funding bill. On both occasions, the majority of the majority . . .
Mr. Speaker: ? will suspend
. . . on both occasions the majority of the majority, 112 Republicans voted against the measures, while only 101 voted in favor.
Whereas before Kevin McCarthy was ousted as speaker, our conference had passed seven appropriation bills, which were some of the strongest conservative bills passed in decades. Speaker Johnson refused to continue this important process. He instead led us to another CR on January 18th, 2024 and got it passed with the support of 207 Democrats and . . .
Thomas Massie: Mr. Speaker, the House is not in order.
Mr. Speaker: Lady is recognized.
. . . And only 107 Republicans. While 106 Republicans voted against it.
Whereas Speaker Johnson passed a third CR, this time calling it a process CR. As if that made continuing Nancy Pelosi’s budget, yet again, any different from the previous year.
Whereas with little to no communication with our conference, Speaker Johnson passed the first mini budget appropriations bill on March 6th, and passed a second mini budget appropriation bill two weeks later on March 22nd.
Whereas a two part omnibus, split into two minibuses, was crammed down our throats and passed under suspension of the rules, with only one day to review it.
Whereas Speaker Johnson’s Omnibus did nothing to stop Biden’s deadly border invasion, it fully funded it. Speaker Johnson did nothing to stop the energy killing Green New Deal climate agenda. He fully funded it. He did nothing to stop the weaponized Department of Justice and FBI. He fully funded them. He did nothing to stop the trans agenda on kids. He fully funded it. He did nothing to stop full term abortions. He fully funded them. He did nothing to stop the fueling of forever foreign wars. He fully funded them.
Whereas on April 18th, 2024, the Rules Committee passed a H Res. 1160, the rule providing for consideration of the $95 billion foreign funding package by a vote of 9 to 3. Notably, all Democrat members of the committee voted to advance the measure to the floor, while, while three Republicans opposed it. It is unprecedented for members of the minority party to advance a resolution out of the Rules Committee. Since 1995 there have been a few instances of rules advancing out of committee with minority support. However, H Res 1160 is the only instance where this was done to bypass opposition from the members of the majority party.
Whereas the last instance and appropriations measure, which passed the House failed to include a majority of the majority, was on final passage of the fiscal year 2015 Department of Homeland Security House appropriations bill during the 114th Congress. In the months following this failure, Speaker Boehner announced his resignation
Whereas in a January 26th, 2024, Dear Colleague, Speaker Johnson called the Senate’s supplementals and border security legislation dead on arrival in the House. Likewise, in January 2024, Speaker Johnson took a trip to the US-Mexico border, where he said if President Biden wants a supplemental spending bill focused on national security, it better begin by defending America’s national security.
Whereas in the months following his border trip, Speaker Johnson introduced a $95 billion foreign aid supplemental with no border security attached.
Whereas excuses like, this is just how you have to govern and divided government, are pathetic, weak and unacceptable even with our razor thin Republican majority. We could have at least secured the border, with it being the number one issue in the country. And the issue that is actually causing Biden to trail President Trump in poll after poll.
Whereas Speaker Johnson’s capitulation on his promise to secure the border came on the heels of Lincoln Riley being brutally murdered, women and children being raped by illegal alien monsters, and our own Border Patrol and Texas National Guard being run over by hordes of military aged illegals.
Whereas great legislation like H.R. 2 and the Lincoln Riley Act are only messaging bills unless we fight to enforce them in our government funding bills.
Whereas while serving on the judiciary House Judiciary Committee, Mike Johnson was a strong defender of individual liberties and was the Chair of the Subcommittee on the Constitution of Limited Government. Despite his history as a defender of civil liberties, on April 12th, 2024, Mike Johnson cast the deciding vote against requiring a warrant for U.S. person queries of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act FISA section 702 data.
Whereas our conference could have also taken out funding for abortion and the trans agenda on kids, if our own Speaker would have allowed us to offer amendments instead. And . . .
Mr. Speaker: House will be in order. Members will kindly take the conversations outside the chamber. GentleWoman’s recognized
MTG: . . . instead Mike Johnson worked with Chuck Schumer rather than the conference, and gave Joe Biden and the Democrats everything they wanted. No different from how House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries would have done.
Whereas Speaker Johnson fully funded Special Counsel Jack Smith’s witch hunt and 91 indictments against President Trump, our Republican presidential nominee, House Republicans could have used our power of the purse to stop this. But Speaker Johnson didn’t even let us try. Whereas Joe Biden’s weaponized DOJ is arresting a new January 6th election protestor every single day and putting nonviolent political enemies, including veterans, mothers and fathers and grandparents, in jail for years. And the 5th January six defendant has now committed suicide.
Whereas our pro-life, Christian conservative Republican Speaker Mike Johnson, fully funded the Department of Justice as . . . as it is prosecuting and convicting peaceful pro-life activists who are facing 11 years in jail, again refusing to allow Republicans to offer amendments to stop these injustices.
Whereas actions are the only thing that matter. And words are meaningless without following through on them. By passing the Democrats agenda and handcuffing Republicans ability to influence, legislation, our elected Republican Speaker, Mike Johnson, has aided and abetted the Democrats and the Biden administration in destroying our country.
Whereas removing this unity party Speaker will not give the Speaker’s gavel to the Democrats, which would only happen if Republicans actually vote for Hakeem Jeffries.
Mr. Speaker: House will be in order. Gentlewoman will suspend. Gentlewoman Recognized.
. . . In fact, Minority Leader Jeffries, Nancy Pelosi, and other high ranking Democrats have publicly stated they will save Mike Johnson from a vote to vacate him. In a recent interview, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said, even though we’re in the minority, we effectively have been governing as if we were in the majority.
Robert Massie: Speaker of the House. Not in order.
MTG: Whereas our country is nearly $35 trillion in debt, and about $40 billion are added to the debt every day. Our border is overrun by illegal invaders and terrorists from over 160 countries. Our people are being killed by the hundreds every single day by fentanyl. And Mike Johnson refuses to do anything about about it.
Whereas Mike Johnson is ill equipped to handle the rigors of the job of Speaker of the House and is allowed a uniparty, one that fuels foreign wars, tramples on civil liberties, and increases our disastrous national debt, to take complete control of the House of Representatives.
Whereas Speaker Johnson’s tenure is defined by one self-serving characteristic, when given a choice between advancing Republican priorities or aligning with the Democrats to preserve his own personal power, Johnson regularly chooses to ally himself with Democrats. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the office of the speaker of the House of Representatives . . .
Mr. Speaker: Gentlewoman will suspend the House will be in order. Gentlewoman is recognized.
MTG: . . . Resolved, that the office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives is hereby declared to be vacant.
Mr. Speaker: The chair will now recognize the gentlewoman from Georgia to offer the resolution just noticed. Does the gentleman from Georgia offered the resolution.
MTG: Yes.
Mr. Speaker: The clerk will report the resolution.
