Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) said that a group of Democrats might block Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) from ousting Speaker Mike Johnson by not voting on the motion to vacate.
Transcript via: MSNBC/Inside with Jen Psaki:
PSAKI: Even before then, I mean, there are members of the Republican Party who are threatening — Marjorie Taylor Greene, of course — threatening to oust Speaker Johnson.
And the real possibility is that an alternative could be worse. I mean, this is a crazy time we’re living in. Would you support him, vote for him as speaker if that were up to you? Or would — do you think other Democrats would?
SCHIFF: I think what would likely happen if they go forward with this motion to try to unseat him because he brought Ukraine funding to the floor, you would have a significant enough group of Democrats who simply walk away and don’t vote, which, frankly, would probably be the right result.
I don’t think it does the speaker any good to have Democrats responsible for saving him. But Republicans would essentially be voting for the speaker. It’s just that the vote threshold would be lowered, so that the votes of the crazies, the Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Gosar, et cetera, are not preventing the House from governing in any way.
Video:
Adam Schiff says Democrats might help Mike Johnson keep his job by not voting on the motion to vacate. pic.twitter.com/l5KhH2rc9B
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) April 30, 2024
A group of Democrats could decide not to vote on the motion to vacate, which would lower the threshold number of votes that Johnson would need to keep his job and make sure that Democrats don’t have to vote for the Republican speaker.
Democrats could wash their hands of the whole thing and make it a Republican problem by walking away. Republicans have the majority. They need to figure it out. It’s their job to pick and keep a speaker.
This solution makes the most sense, and it also takes power away from Marjorie Taylor Greene, so it is a win all around. The House continues to function, and Greene loses.
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