The United States Capitol. (Photo: Author)
May 8, 2024 by David Silverberg
All of Southwest Florida’s congressional representatives voted to keep House Speaker Michael Johnson (R-4-La.) in his position, rebuffing an attempt by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-14-Ga.) to oust him.
The vote taken this evening at 5:43 pm was to table Greene’s “motion to vacate,” House Resolution 1209, which would have declared the Speaker’s position vacant and set in motion an effort to elect a new Speaker. By tabling the motion, the House set it aside, taking no further action and effectively killing it.
The House voted overwhelmingly, 359 to 43 to table the motion. Some 196 Republicans and 163 Democrats voted for tabling. Only 11 Republicans and 32 Democrats voted against it. Seven Democrats voted “present,” 10 Republicans and 11 Democrats did not vote at all.
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-26-Fla.) was very clear about his reasons for the vote.
“This Motion to Vacate vote is nothing more than a patently obvious attempt to seek attention, it will not help achieve any tangible results except media interviews for the proponents,” he stated on X. “Since @SpeakerJohnson was elected, he has proven remarkably adept at achieving conservative policy wins with the smallest majority in modern times. Time and time again he has earned my respect and deserves the support of every House Republican.”
As of this writing, Reps. Byron Donalds (R-19-Fla.) and Greg Steube (R-17-Fla.) had not posted statements about their votes on any platform.
Liberty lives in light
© 2024 by David Silverberg