'Insane' Plan To Vote Out Speaker Johnson: Former Congressman King

WASHINGTON, DC — "I think it's insane," former congressman Peter King, reacted Wednesday to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's plan to force a vote next week to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson.

Greene, a three-time supporter of Donald Trump for president, said Johnson has distanced himself from the Conservative values that helped him get elected Speaker in October.

"He finally passed a two-part Omnibus that fully funded Joe Biden's agenda and the Democrat agenda," Greene said.

However, Rep. Anthony D'Esposito (R-NY-04) says Taylor's motion to vacate resolution "is not going anywhere. Hopefully, the item is tabled."

King concurred: "I hope both parties just move to kill it without any hearing."

Still, King finds Greene's push to remove Johnson troubling.

"We've never removed the Speaker after 200 years until Kevin McCarthy," King told Patch. "You can't be removing a Speaker of the House, going from vote to vote. I would say the same thing next year if the Democrats take over the House by three or four votes. You can't allow a small faction to basically hold the whole party and the whole Congress hostage."

D'Esposito said Taylor's motion to vacate "is not going anywhere."

McCarthy held the speakership post for 10 months in 2023.

"Mike Johnson is doing the job that he's supposed to do, leading the House the Representatives. I support him," D'Esposito said. "We, especially as Republicans, need to unify and move forward toward victory in November."

"That's what democracy is about," King said. "You fight as hard as you can to get as much as you can, for what you and your party believe in, but you have to get it done. Often to get what you want you have to compromise with the other side... it's insane to try to do it otherwise."