WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said she is ready to call for a vote to remove Mike Johnson as House speaker, even if it ultimately fails with Democrats’ help.

Greene, at times angry and cursing during a Wednesday morning news conference on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, said Johnson is a weak leader who has allowed the Democratic Party’s agenda to prevail. And she said all members of the U.S. House should be forced to cast votes publicly on whether he should continue as leader.

“I think every member of Congress needs to take that vote and let the chips fall where they may,” said Greene, a Rome Republican. “And so, next week I am going to be calling this motion to vacate.”

For more than a month, Greene’s motion to vacate resolution has hung over Johnson’s head. She filed the paperwork on March 22, but she did not immediately call for a vote, reserving the right to do so at any time.

So far, only two fellow conservatives have said they support Greene’s efforts to oust Johnson, a Louisiana Republican. If most Republicans and Democrats oppose Greene’s motion to vacate or move to quash her efforts, it will fail.

Many rank-and-file GOP lawmakers have said they are unwilling to create another speakership vacancy, recalling the weeks of chaos and uncertainty created when conservatives voted with Democrats to remove Kevin McCarthy from the job in October.

“I think a motion to vacate is the worst thing you could do right now,” U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-St. Simons Island, said Tuesday. “I disagreed with it in October.”

Former President Donald Trump has also stood behind Johnson. The two met at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, and in a joint appearance, the former president said Johnson is “doing a very good job” and “I stand with the speaker.”

While Greene said she remains an ally of Trump and is in close contact, the former president has mildly criticized her efforts to oust Johnson as unnecessary and a distraction. But he has not publicly indicated any rift with Greene, one of his most prominent and vocal allies in Congress.

Serving as the catalyst for Greene’s announcement was a declaration by House Democratic leaders on Tuesday that they would help protect Johnson.

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