Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) called on Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) to resign this week after the Georgia congresswoman said she would call for a vote on her motion to vacate House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). Greene has been willing to antagonize her own party to punish Johnson, who she accuses of working across the aisle with Democrats and abandoning what she characterizes as Republican priorities and objectives.
Calling for Greene’s “immediate” resignation, Swalwell wrote that Greene “has lost all credibility.” The California lawmaker asserted that “competence and community beat chaos and corruption,” an accusation that Greene favors chaos and obstruction — on which she has been able to do strong fundraising — over cooperation and problem-solving.
It’s over. How can Marjorie Taylor Greene remain in Congress? She has lost all credibility. Competence and community beat chaos and corruption. Greene should resign immediately. https://t.co/yMpwbYk823
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) April 30, 2024
Greene has convinced Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) to co-sponsor her motion. But the MTV seems destined to be performative, as it looks as if Johnson would get help from Democrats to keep the gavel. Even Republican National Committee co-chair Michael Whatley, hand-picked by presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, has reportedly asked Greene to withdraw from attack mode — to no avail. (It is a rare case of Greene — indirectly, at least — seeming to defy Trump’s wishes.)
In a conversation with Anderson Cooper, Swalwell characterized Greene as a “chaos agent” and indicating that saving Johnson’s job as Speaker — as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies has said Dems will do — is simply a way to “get things done.”
Cooper asked if Swalwell was worried that saving Johnson, a very conservative Trump loyalist, could cost him and other Democrats votes. The Congressman replied that he’d promised “to work with anyone who could help get things done.” Johnson has, since taking the job, been on the side of “avoiding shutdowns, paying our bills, and helping Ukraine,” Swalwell said, however slow the movement on those issues has been.
U.S. House Rep @RepSwalwell with @andersoncooper
Swalwell “Getting things done has to be the priority”
Via #StudioGo pic.twitter.com/BjJzV2dErr
— StudiGo (@StudiGo_LLC) May 2, 2024