The speaker of the House of Representatives was accused by conservative critics of “betraying America” after he forced a vote on aid for Ukraine, ending months of deadlock in Congress.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has been one of Mike Johnson’s fiercest critics, issued fresh calls for his removal from the speaker’s chair on Sunday, hours after lawmakers approved a $60 billion (£48.5 billion) aid package for Ukraine.
The bill, which was one of four to be heard in an unusual Saturday session of the House, passed with the support of Democrats.
Mr Johnson has faced calls from three Republican representatives to resign, after he said he was willing to work with Democrats to pass the Ukraine bill and other legislation to support Israel and Taiwan.
Following the vote, Ms Taylor Greene said on X: “Mike Johnson betrayed America once again.”
Describing the Ukraine funding as a “proxy war against Russia,” she added: “House Republicans and the American people would be stronger without his disloyalty and betrayal of his principles.
“Now it’s time for my colleagues to go home and hear from their constituents. We need a new speaker of the House!”
In a press gaggle after the vote, she described the speaker as a “lame duck”.
Her call for a motion to vacate, which would remove Mr Johnson, is publicly supported by two other Republicans, Thomas Massie and Paul Gosar.
Mr Johnson has said he will not resign the speakership, which he won after the deposition of his predecessor Kevin McCarthy in October.
“I am not resigning,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “And it is, in my view, an absurd notion that someone would bring a vacate motion when we are simply here trying to do our jobs.”
Republicans have suggested a motion to vacate could be brought as soon as next week. It is unlikely to pass, and would require the support of Democrats, who voted for Mr Johnson’s motion on Ukraine funding.
Donald Trump, the GOP nominee and political figurehead of the so-called “MAGA” wing of the party in Congress, threw his support behind Mr Johnson in a press conference last weekend.
“He’s doing a really good job under very tough circumstances,” he said.
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