Speaker Mike Johnson calls Marjorie Taylor Greene's bid to oust him a 'distraction' as he fights to keep his job and says GOP doesn't need 'dissension' with the 'smallest margin in history'

Mike Johnson says spending the months before the November election fighting, again, for a new House Speaker is a 'distraction' as the party deals with one of the slimmest majorities in modern history – and shrinking.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) filed a motion on March 22 to vacate Speaker Johnson (R-La.) from his role after he struck a bipartisan spending deal that she claims didn't do enough to secure the southern border.

Johnson told Fox News host and former Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy on Sunday that he plans to speak with Rep. Greene this week on the matter and they are exchanging texts regularly.

Speaker Mike Johnson said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's bid to oust him is a 'distraction' from the goal of keeping their Republican majority in the House 

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene filed a motion to vacate Johnson from his speakership after he brought bipartisan spending legislation to avoid a government shut down last month

'I think all of my other Republican colleagues recognize this is a distraction from our mission,' the top House Republican said. 'Again, the mission is to save the Republic. And the only way we can do that is if we grow the House majority, win the Senate and win the White House.'

He added: 'So, we don't need any dissension right now.'

On October 3, 2023, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) was successful in his efforts to vacate now-former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who left Congress shortly after losing his leadership position. The ouster led to a weeks-long effort with several failures to elect a new Speaker.

Johnson was finally elected to replace McCarthy on October 25. He was seen as someone who could toe the line between establishment Republicans, the conservative House Freedom Caucus members and more far-right factions of the party.

It now appears, however, that any Republican Speaker who works with Democrats to pass bipartisan legislation will face the wrath of the more staunch pro-MAGA lawmakers.

Speaker Johnson dubbed MTG and some of her cohorts who seek to be kingmakers in the House as the 'Chaos Caucus.'

MTG's resolution comes just five months after Republicans finally agree on Johnson as their next Speaker after Kevin McCarthy was ousted 

Johnson (right) told Fox News that he and MTG (left) are in communication over text and plan to speak in person this week regarding her resolution to vacate

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc.) announced in March that he will not serve out the remainder of his term and is leaving Congress this month. Gallagher is chairman of the House Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.

His early departure comes after Republican Rep. Ken Buck (Colo.) also ended his tenure in the House early when he left his seat vacant last month.

Speaker Johnson is now dealing with an even more razor-thin Republican majority while facing a bid for his ouster by MTG.

Fox host Trey Gowdy questioned Johnson on why MTG isn't more focused on working with her fellow Georgia Republicans to reclaim both Senate seats in the purple state after both were lost to Democrats in 2020.

'How does it help the GOP grow the majority to be talking about a motion to vacate, instead of talking about the border or inflation or other issues that are better for the GOP' Gowdy asked on Sunday. 'How does this motion to vacate help win back the majority or win a bigger majority?'

'I don't think it does,' Johnson replied.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (left) filed a motion to vacate former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (right) and was successful on October 3, 2023 – but it took a few weeks and several failed attempts to finally vote in his replacement in Johnson

MTG washed her hands of any potential blame should her bid to vacate Johnson end up giving power over to Democrats and their House Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).

Rep. Greene instead laid blame on Republicans who left Congress before the end of their term – name-dropping both Reps. Buck and Gallagher. 

'It's just a simple math,' she insisted in a Tuesday interview with Real America's Voice. 'The more Republicans, like Mike Gallagher, that resign and leave early — guess what, that means we have less Republicans in the House.'

'So, every time a Mike Gallagher or a Ken Buck leaves early, that brings our numbers down and brings us dangerously closer to being in the minority.'

Once Gallagher leaves his seat on April 19, Republicans will only be able to lose one vote in order to pass party-line legislation.

After a special election in California in May for McCarthy's seat, that number will go back up to two.