Hear Marjorie Taylor Greene tell CNN about letter to oust Speaker Johnson

Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor GREENE just spoke to CNN hours after sending a harsh rebuke to House Speaker Mike Johnson. The House returned from a two-week recess today and Republicans returned to a

letter

from the Georgia congresswoman intensifying their call for Johnson's

oust

er from the presidency. She also said that, quote, she would not tolerate Johnson's expected plea for more aid for Ukraine. GREENE has been outraged that Johnson reached a deal with Democrats to avoid a government shutdown. Last month, she took the first step toward forcing a floor vote to expel him. Now, CNN's Mike Rogers just spoke with Congresswoman GREENE and joins us live from Capitol Hill.

Manu, what did he share with you? Well, she made it very clear that she will not back down from his efforts and is trying to lay the groundwork for a vote to impeach him. But she didn't say what exactly would prompt her, if she called that vote. She warned Mike Johnson not to go ahead with aid to Ukraine, for example, saying that would essentially be defending her if he went that route, but she stopped short of saying that specifically is a red policy. line. She said that she wants to present the case to her colleagues; In her opinion, Mike Johnson has been nothing more than a Democratic Speaker of the House.

The question: Will Republicans join her? She did not say whether to how many Republicans she would have made clear that she is ready to move on at the right time. So you sent this

letter

to your colleagues this morning. What kind of response have you gotten? Mainly support. It's been pretty incredible. However, everyone is flying into the city today, so I haven't talked to everyone. But most members I've spoken to agree with what I've said. They may not come out and say it publicly. Many are relieved to have said it and I have even

hear

d that within the ranks of the leadership there is agreement on the matter.

So there is agreement on the part of the leadership members and they sent a letter with much of what I said in the letter. This is difficult to do. This is not what I would like to do, but I think it is necessary. This is not a personal attack on Mike Johnson himself or his staff in any way. But Mike Johnson has completely betrayed our conference and his leadership cannot be allowed to continue. And what do you know? He's been saying it since he introduced this resolution a couple of weeks ago. What's stopping you from calling a vote here?

Well, you know, I really respect my lecture. And in my letter, I explained how I work as a team and the ways I have supported our majority. I am one of the few members who has paid all my dues to the NRC. I fought for this majority. I am fighting for the next majority. I know how critical that is. And in doing so, I don't want our conference to devolve into chaos. Mike Johnson has already done it. We are a conference in chaos right now because our Republican House Speaker is passing important bills without majority support, and in doing so, respecting my conference and the other members of the conference, I need to communicate with them.

And that's why I wrote that letter today laying out all the reasons with specific examples that no one can argue with so they can understand my reasoning and have time to think about it. And we can come together and start talking about this. I also posted it publicly because I think it's important for the American people to read it. I don't want to be seen here constantly fighting because one of the things people want is for us to figure out how to get along in Washington, work together and do the right thing. And, you know, I have a business background and the way you do work for your clients, I see the American people as our clients and we have to work together.

So this letter to my colleagues is the beginning of that. First, we admit the problems, first we admit the mistakes, and then we make a plan for change. I'm working on changes I'd like to see and will propose to my colleagues, and hope to talk to them about it. A change in terms of specific people who would be the next

speaker

of the House. I haven't gotten to that step yet, but it may be something I move towards. Of course, it would be private conversations and our conference. Personally, I would love to see a Speaker of the House elected by public vote, but that is not the case.

The Speaker of the House is elected by the majority and the controlling Congress and that is a private vote that begins within the conference itself. So those are conversations we need to have privately first. But you know what? I am very transparent with people. I will communicate my thoughts and plans in the future. Of course, from my district. That's why I had a public meeting last night before coming to Washington this week. But we have to make a change and we have to put into practice what our words say. But that's less important. Are you worried that you saw what happened last fall, when it was a chaotic 22 days and more and they couldn't support another

speaker

?

Are you worried about chaos in the middle of an election year? Well, of course, I'm worried about chaos in an election year. Mike Johnson has thrown us into chaos. Do you realize that all of my colleagues had to go back to their districts and campaign on the fact that our Republican president-elect approved the Biden agenda, that he funded the Department of Justice that has 91 federal indictments against President Trump, that financed the FBI, which raided Mar-A-Lago, which financed Biden's open border, which is the number one issue in America. Yes, we are in chaos. And that comes from Mike Johnson, our Republican president-elect.

Am I worried about the controversial and difficult three and a half weeks to elect a president? Absolutely. I felt miserable during that time. We all were. I'm not going to cause chaos at our conference. I will not give our majority to Democrats, but I will work through this process respectfully with my colleagues. But I'm not going to stop leading this and I'm not going to stop having those difficult conversations. That's what leadership entails, and my colleagues must be prepared for it. Now, one conversation he hasn't had yet is with House Speaker Mike Johnson himself. In fact, they were supposed to talk on Friday, but that didn't happen.

And I asked Marjorie Taylor GREEN why not? And she said, well, because first she wanted to have a town hall with her constituents. That happened yesterday. She said that she is ready to meet him in the future. I also asked her about her conversations with Donald Trump. She did not want to reveal conversations with him on this topic. She said she spoke to Trump today. I asked her if Trump is behind this and if he is trying to dissuade her in some way. She suggested that perhaps he is not dissuading her on this issue at the moment.

That's a dynamic we need to look at here. And also the big dynamic: how much support does she really have? Many Republicans saw what happened last March and that historic and unprecedented overthrow of Kevin McCarthy. Do they have the courage to go through that again in an election year? And what will the Democrats do? Will they come to Johnson's defense, especially if he moves forward with aid to Ukraine? So that's the big question, something Johnson had to confront. How did Democrats respond? How will Republicans respond? We have presented this aid package. And what will Marjorie Taylor GREEN do?

Big questions and problems for the speaker. Yes, there will potentially be a lot more chaos ahead. Manu, a couple of things. I found it fascinating that in her response she said that this was not a personal attack on President Johnson. And then she went on to describe his action in reaching this agreement with the Democrats as a betrayal. She calls him a Democrat, which in the MAGA world is a pejorative. It's almost offensive. Good. I wonder, as she says, if she is waiting to see what he does with aid to Ukraine. What is her understanding of where the negotiations are right now, where the conversation is right now about bringing more aid to Ukraine?

Yes, that is uncertain. What we know is that the president is trying to move forward with a different aid package for Ukraine that will be approved by the Senate. It was a $70 billion bill passed two months ago that included Ukraine and Israel. And I want them to have nothing to do with the border, because Mike Johnson, along with Donald Trump, killed a bipartisan border security agreement. Johnson is now trying to reduce the Senate aid package to Ukraine, and is also trying to add some other provisions there, including a possible loan to Ukraine, as well as some other provisions related to border security, which could codify that the era Trump stay standing.

Politics of Mexico. But when I asked you about that too, would you be open to anything about Ukraine staying there? She said that's not going to do anything to change my mind. In fact, she said that would defend her. So Johns wants to consider that, but right now there's a lot of pressure on John Johnson from Senate Republicans like Mitch McConnell, who are asking him to ask a lot of House Republicans like Michael McCaul, the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, and other supporters of Ukraine. within the House Republican Conference demanding action.

And Mike Johnson seems to recognize that some action needs to be taken regarding Ukraine. He has changed his approach on this issue since he was a rank-and-file member and is now Speaker of the House, potentially because of all those classified briefings he receives on this very issue. So can he overcome the divide within the Republican Party? Whatever the attempt to appease Democrats, it will be replete with provisions aimed at courting Republicans, even at the border. These are all complicated questions. And also, can he get it through the House and then get it back to the Senate and the president just in time to make a difference in the war in Ukraine?

Those are all very important questions that the speaker is now contemplating and trying to navigate within this bitterly divided Republican conference. And yet, he has very, very limited room for maneuver in this regard, given the fact that in just a couple of weeks he will only have one vote left on the Republican side of the aisle. As you can see, the dynamic is very complicated, to say the least, for Mike Johnson.