Mike Johnson slams Marjorie Taylor Greene’s ‘absurd’ bid to oust him as second lawmaker joins push

House Speaker Mike Johnson is refusing to heed calls for his resignation from far-right extremist members after he agreed to allow the House to consider legislation to authorise further military aid to Ukraine along with defence assistance for Israel and Taiwan.

The Louisiana Republican was urged to step down by Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie during a meeting of the House GOP Conference on Tuesday after Mr Johnson said he was putting forth legislation to fund Israeli and Ukrainian defence needs over the objection of members such as Georgia’s Marjorie Taylor Greene, who weeks ago filed a motion to remove him as Speaker after he allowed the House to vote on funding the federal government for the rest of the current fiscal year.

Mr Massie, a MIT-educated engineer who routinely opposes all government spending bills, said he would co-sponsor Ms Greene’s measure, which would declare Mr Johnson’s office “vacant”. It is the same procedural tactic a group of Republicans used last year to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy after he allowed a vote to keep the government funded.

But at a press conference on Tuesday, he dismissed Mr Massie’s demand outright.

“It is, in my view, an absurd notion that someone would bring a vacate motion when we are simply here trying to do our jobs,” he said. “I am not concerned about this, I am going to do my job, and I think that’s what the American people expect of us”.

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