Republicans ignite circular firing squad as their small majority in House continues to shrink

01 April 2024

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) threated to oust Rep. Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) as House speaker when, on March 22, she triggered a "motion to vacate" against him.

Greene's move brought back memories of 2023, when former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) was ousted from that position following a "motion to vacate" set off by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida).

To her critics, the far-right MAGA congresswoman is a glaring example of why the GOP's small House majority is in a state of chaos and continues to shrink. But Greene is pointing the finger at former Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colorado), outgoing Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Michigan) and other frustrated Republicans who are leaving Congress without serving out the remainder of their terms.

Reporters Mike Lillis and Mychael Schnell examine this infighting among House Republicans in an article published by The Hill on April 1 — noting the animosity comes at a time when the GOP's already-small House majority is growing even smaller.

Lillis and Schnell write, "Who's to blame for the GOP's dwindling House majority? It depends on whom you ask…. The internal blame game has highlighted both the deep divisions dogging the House GOP — where conservative agitators are bashing moderates as apostates, and moderates are bashing the hardliners as obstructionists — and the minuscule majority that's made it all but impossible for Republican leaders to unite the warring camps for the sake of passing the party's policy priorities."

During a late March appearance on the right-wing Real America's Voice, Greene complained, "Every time a Mike Gallagher or a Ken Buck leaves early, that brings our numbers down and brings us dangerously closer to being in the minority." And Greene recently told Fox News, "Those people stepping down early and leaving are the ones that are leaving us at risk of the Democrats controlling the majority, not me."

But a frustrated Buck, after announcing his departure, told reporters, "This place just keeps going downhill, and I don’t need to spend my time here."

Rep. Greg Murphy (R-North Carolina) describes the nonstop infighting among House Republicans as a "circular firing squad."

Murphy told The Hill, "Speaker Johnson is put in a very difficult situation. No one wants to stop the government from running. It's poor governance; we can't keep the Republican circular firing squad. When this happens, only the Democrats end up winning."

Read The Hill's full report at this link.

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