Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) renewed her threat today to remove Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) from House leadership in a lengthy and biting five page letter sent to her Republican colleagues. Greene has threatened to remove Johnson from the speaker’s office after Johnson opted to work with Democrats to pass significant pieces of appropriations bills that conservative members of the Republican conference opposed, but she has not yet brought her motion to vacate Johnson’s speakership to a vote. Additionally, members of both parties have made it clear in recent weeks that they’re not interested in ousting Johnson from the speakership, arguing that neither party wants to see the House get thrown into weeks long chaos once again over more Republican infighting. In her Tuesday letter, Greene did not indicate when she plans to move ahead with the motion to vacate. Additionally, not one Republican has publicly backed the effort. The standoff threatens to mire the House in another standstill, saddling the Republican majority with a do-nothing label after months of turmoil that has yielded few legislative victories and has sent many veteran Republican lawmakers heading for the exits.
The Marjorie Taylor Greene drama is playing out as Speaker Johnson tries to navigate drafting a bill to fund Ukraine aid that all sides can swallow as well as another contentious issue this week, an effort to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a major and controversial law that allows warrantless surveillance of foreigners but also sweeps up the communications of American citizens. Johnson has announced the House will take up the FISA reauthorization bill this week introduced by GOP Representative Laurel Lee of Florida titled the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act, which would reauthorize Section 702 of FISA for five years and aims to impose a series of reforms. Today, the House Rules Committee will begin the process of considering the legislation with a set of amendments expected to come up for a vote, including one that would add an additional warrant requirement.
For today, the Senate is expected to continue working on nominations and will consider the nomination of Susan M. Bazis to be United States District Judge for the District of Nebraska and the nomination of Robert J. White to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Michigan.
The House has reconvened and at 6:30 P.M. will vote on twelve bills under suspension of the Rules from the Natural Resource Committee, including H.R. 1792 – South Pacific Tuna Treaty Act of 2023, as amended.
