Marjorie Taylor Greene says Republicans will need to choose ‘MAGA’ or ‘MUGA’ over Mike Johnson

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene says her fellow representatives will need to choose between “MAGA” or “MUGA” as her attempt to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson moves ahead.

On Wednesday, the right-wing Georgia firebrand, accompanied by fellow right-wing Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, said she will call a privileged motion next week that would trigger an automatic vote within 48 hours over Johnson’s removal.

“I think every member of Congress needs to take that vote and let the chips fall where they may,” Ms Greene said at a press conference.

She said that she would trigger the vote after House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Whip Katherine Clark and Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar said they would vote on a motion to table Ms Greene’s motion.

Ms Greene and Mr Massie criticised Mr Johnson’s reliance on Democrats to pass everything from spending bills to reauthorisation of surveillance legislation and aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. They blasted work between Mr Johnson and Mr Jeffries as a culmination of the “uniparty.””

Rep Greene then brandished a hat that said “MUGA.”

“The uniparty is ‘Make Ukraine Great Again,’” she said. “The uniparty is about funding every single foreign war. They think this is the business model that needs to be done.”

Mr Johnson responded by criticizing Greene’s motion to vacate.

“This motion is wrong for the Republican Conference, wrong for the institution, and wrong for the country,” he said.

Numerous Republican members of the House - including many who voted to oust former Republican speaker Kevin McCarthy - told The Independent on Tuesday they did not want to oust Mr Johnson because the legislation would fail or it would lead to Mr Jeffries becoming speaker.

But Mr Massie dismissed those concerns.

“What we've seen here coming out of the uniparty,” Mr Massie said. “And it will be consolidated and it will be transparent and apparent next week to all Americans, when this vote happens to be any of our colleagues have grown up in the hands of frustration and apathy.”

Ms Greene said she would move forward with the vote despite the fact that former president Donald Trump has defended Mr Johnson, even appearing with him at Mar-a-Lago after Ms Greene filed a motion to vacate.

“I’m the biggest supporter of president Trump and that’s why I proudly wear this Maga hat,” she said. “I fight for his agenda every single day, and that’s why I’m fighting against my own Republican conference.”

Specifically, Ms Greene cited the fact that Mr Johnson passed a spending bill that fully funded the Department of Justice and gave the FBI a new office building in Maryland - despite the agency executing a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago in 2022 over Mr Trump’s storing of classified documents and Special Counsel Jack Smith’s ongoing investigation into Mr Trump.

Ms Greene also said that if the motion to vacate was blocked, she would not consider it a failure.

“It’s a win for the American people because that’s a list of names,” she said. “I believe in recorded votes. That is our job.”