Ousting US House of Representatives speaker attempt failed

Far-right US Representative Marjorie Taylor Green failed on Wednesday in her bid to impeach Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, who is supported by earmarking aid to Ukraine.

The lawmaker, who is very close to Donald Trump, wanted to remove Johnson, a member of her own party, at all costs, accusing him of treason.

During a speech to Congress, she accused Mike Johnson of funding endless wars and her remarks were met with strong boos inside the room.

But the impeachment motion failed quickly as majorities of Democrats and Republicans voted to keep Johnson in office.

Mike Johnson said in a statement, “I would like to express my gratitude for the vote of confidence by my colleagues to thwart this misplaced initiative”.

Donald Trump commented shortly after the vote on his social network, “I love Marjorie Taylor Green very much, but we aren’t now in a position to pass an impeachment memo,” given the very narrow Republican majority in the House of Representatives.

Support for Ukraine has been the focus of intense debate in the US Congress, with many Republicans calling for aid not to be approved for the country, which is at war with Russia.

However, after months of stalling and pressure from Democrats and their allies around the world, Mike Johnson eventually backed the new aid package, angering the far right.

Any member of the US House of Representatives can file a motion to remove the speaker.

That scenario already worked a few months ago with the firing of former Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy after a small group of pro-Trump lawmakers accused him of making a secret deal with Democrats on Ukraine in the midst of negotiations over the draft budget.