Several Democrats came out in support of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) filed a motion to remove him from his speakership on Friday.
Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) said that he would vote to keep Johnson as speaker of the House, saying that it would be “absurd” to remove him for “doing the right thing.”
“It’s absurd he’s being kicked out for doing the right thing, keeping the government open. It has two-thirds support of the Congress, and the idea that he would be kicked out by these jokers is absurd,” Suozzi told CNN.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) also suggested he would back Johnson despite not supporting the Republican.
“I do not support Speaker Johnson, but I will never stand by and let MTG take over the people’s House,” Moskowitz wrote on X.
Greene filed a motion to vacate Johnson from his seat as Speaker after he brought the government funding package to a floor vote, which was passed to avert a government shutdown.
Even some Democrats who have opposed Johnson on nearly every major policy issue indicated they would back the Republican and advocate for him to keep his speakership. However, only if he is willing to consider the foreign-aid package passed by the Senate in February.
“I’d want to see his good-faith action before that happened,” Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) said.
Before Greene filed her motion against Johnson, Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) also suggested that he would work to prevent the Speaker from being ousted— depending on his stance regarding additional aid for Ukraine.
“If we get a vote on the appropriations bills and we get a vote on the supplemental, there’ll be enough Democrats that Johnson will not be removed as speaker,” Smith said last month.