Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., said Tuesday he is co-sponsoring a motion by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., to vacate Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., urging him to "pre-announce his resignation."
"You're not going to be the speaker much longer," Massie told Johnson in front of a closed-door meeting of the entire Republican conference, Politico and Punchbowl News reported.
According to Punchbowl, Massie told Johnson he "should clean the barn and resign or else he'll be vacated."
Massie then took to X to announce his position.
"I just told Mike Johnson in conference that I'm cosponsoring the Motion to Vacate that was introduced by @RepMTG. He should pre-announce his resignation (as Boehner did), so we can pick a new Speaker without ever being without a GOP Speaker," Massie posted.
Massie's public display drew boos and catcalls from the majority of the GOP conference, Politico and Axios reported. Massie is the first House Republican to publicly back Greene's ouster of Johnson since her letter of discontent was sent to the conference last week.
Massie confronted Johnson on Tuesday morning after the Speaker announced plans to bring multiple foreign aid bills to the floor, Axios reported, a red line for House conservatives.
But it's the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back for Massie, who outlined his grievances on X.
"Speaker Johnson has led the GOP to pass: 1) an omnibus that spends more than Pelosi's highest year 2) an expansion of the domestic warrantless surveillance program and this week he's pushing 3) Schumer's dream bill which contains $100 billion of foreign aid, mostly for war," Massie wrote.
Should Greene follow through with the vote to vacate, Johnson would need Democrat support to keep the gavel.
"Folks are very discouraged. … We are screwed," one Republican lawmaker told Politico.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.