Blaze News investigates: 'Uniparty Speaker'? Mike Johnson bailed out in peculiar bipartisan vote — here's what happened

After dangling the threat over House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) for over a month, Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia finally pulled the trigger on May 8 and sought to oust him from the speakership.

But in a peculiar show of bipartisanship, the bulk of lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle joined together to spike the ouster effort in a 359-43 vote to table the matter.

"The Uniparty has spoken, and Mike Johnson is their speaker."

Only 11 House Republicans voted against the motion to table the issue: Greene, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Warren Davidson of Ohio, Alex Mooney of West Virginia, Barry Moore of Alabama, Victoria Spartz of Indiana, Chip Roy of Texas, Paul Gosar of Arizona, Eli Crane of Arizona, Eric Burlison of Missouri, and Andy Biggs of Arizona. Thirty-two Democrats also voted against the motion to table, while seven Democrats voted present.

"The Uniparty has spoken, and Mike Johnson is their speaker," GOP Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky declared in a written statement to Blaze News after the vote on Wednesday.

Johnson ascended to the speaker's chair last year after prior House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was booted from the post. Following the McCarthy ouster, the House GOP struggled to agree on a replacement before finally tapping Johnson for the role.

Back in March, Greene fired a warning shot when she filed a motion to vacate.

"The current Speaker has shown he cannot stand up to the Democrats. I filed a Motion to Vacate because it's time the American people have leadership in Congress that will fight for their values and stop funding the left's agenda," a tweet on Greene's @RepMTG X account declared at the time.

In April, GOP Reps. Massie and Gosar cosponsored Greene's motion to vacate.

Then, in an April 30 statement, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), and House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) announced that if Greene sought to oust Johnson, they would vote to table the motion to vacate.

"We will vote to table Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's Motion to Vacate the Chair. If she invokes the motion, it will not succeed," the Democratic trio declared in the statement.

Greene indicated that she would seek to oust Johnson the following week.

During an interview on "60 Minutes," Jeffries said, "Even though we're in the minority, we effectively have been governing as if we were in the majority because we continue to provide a majority of the votes necessary to get things done."

Greene and Massie made four demands.

During a phone interview with Blaze News on Wednesday before Greene later took to the House floor and sought to oust Johnson, Massie characterized the four points as "suggestions," which he indicated were for the benefit of the GOP, the nation, and the institution.

One of the asks was for Johnson to follow "the Hastert Rule, which means no bills are brought to the floor unless the majority of the majority, which is the majority of Republicans, support it," Greene said during an appearance on Steve Bannon's "War Room" program.

They were also seeking the defunding or elimination of special counsel Jack Smith's "illegitimate prosecution" of former President Donald Trump, as well as an end of U.S. funding for Ukraine, Massie noted while speaking to Blaze News.

Another request was his "shutdown prevention plan," Massie noted, explaining that "instead of shutting down the government, have an automatic 99% [continuing resolution]" if the House fails to pass its 12 individual appropriations bills.

"He's ignored every warning. He continues to behave like he's representing the uniparty or doing Chuck Schumer's bidding," Massie said to Blaze News of Johnson, adding, "This week we've given him a chance to show us he will fight for our conference" and "principles," but "we don't see him doing that."

Shortly after Blaze News spoke to Massie, Greene took to the House floor and sought to oust Johnson, a move that was met by audible boos in the chamber.

The new motion to vacate that the congresswoman put forward on Wednesday laid out a lengthy list of grievances against the speaker.

In a post on X, Massie shared what he said was the "full text of" Greene's "motion to vacate the office of Speaker of the House." The text included statements such as:

• "Mike Johnson cast the deciding vote against requiring a warrant for U.S. person queries of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Section 702 data."

• "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."

Greene and Massie have referred to Johnson as a "Uniparty Speaker," but other Republicans regard the speaker much differently.

In a statement responding to questions from Blaze News about whether he supported the speakership ouster effort and the four demands Massie and Greene had made, GOP Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska — who was one of the 196 House Republicans who voted to table Greene's motion to vacate — described Johnson as an individual who is committed to "doing the right thing for" the nation.

"I oppose the efforts of two or three Republicans to vacate Speaker Johnson. He's an honest man and dedicated to doing the right thing for our country. He's being attacked for passing FISA, a budget and the Ukraine supplemental, all things that I and the vast majority in the House all supported," Bacon said in the written statement. "I'd give no concessions to 1.5% of the GOP who are making them. These individuals had the chance to vote and speak against these bills but it is not enough for them. They want to forbid the vast majority of the House from doing its will."

GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who instigated the removal of McCarthy from the speakership last year, was also among the bulk of Republicans who voted to kill Greene's effort, but in a tweet explaining his decision, Gaetz actually praised Greene, saying that she "made a truthful, compelling case against Mike Johnson" and "should be commended for this work."

"I voted to table the motion for one principal reason — with a two seat majority in an election year I believe 2-3 Republicans could be susceptible to bribes to resign or even vote for a Democrat. Democrats would then instantly deem Trump an 'insurrectionist' to bar him from the ballot," Gaetz said in the tweet. "House Republicans must do better. We must be led better. We must return Trump to the White House."

Trump spoke highly of Greene in a post on Truth Social but expressed opposition to her move to target Johnson's speakership, calling the speaker "a good man who is trying very hard."

"I absolutely love Marjorie Taylor Greene. She's got Spirit, she's got Fight, and I believe she'll be around, and on our side, for a long time to come," the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee wrote. "However, right now, Republicans have to be fighting the Radical Left Democrats, and all the Damage they have done to our Country. With a Majority of One, shortly growing to three or four, we’re not in a position of voting on a Motion to Vacate. At some point, we may very well be, but this is not the time. We are leading in the Presidential Polls by a lot, both Nationally and in the Swing States."

"Likewise, we are doing well in the Senate, and I believe will do well in the House. But if we show DISUNITY, which will be portrayed as CHAOS, it will negatively affect everything! Mike Johnson is a good man who is trying very hard. I also wish certain things were done over the last period of two months, but we will get them done, together. It is my request that Republicans vote for 'THE MOTION TO TABLE.' We WILL WIN BIG — AND IT WILL BE SOON!" Trump concluded.

When speaking to Politico during an interview with the "Playbook Deep Dive" podcast, Johnson claimed that the Hastert Rule has not been violated during his speakership. He said that he does not anticipate any additional Ukraine funding requests prior to the end of the year.

The speaker, who said he thinks Trump will win the election, noted that he intends to remain in the speakership.

"Will the 'accidental' Speaker win in next Congress? Conservatives should ask themselves: Do you want a speaker who passes majority Democrats bills despised by a majority of GOP? If that's winning, it's hard to imagine how losing could be any worse," GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky tweeted, earning a retweet from Massie.

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