earlier today, federal reserve chair jerome powell answered questions about the economy and announced that interest rates would remain stable. the federal reserve' benchmark interest rate has not changed since july of last year. you can watch the full news conference tonight at 9:00 eastern on c-span. c-span now, our free mobile video app. or online at c-span.org. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we're funded by these television companies and more, including buckeye broadband.

buckeye broadba supports c-span as a public service along with these oer television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> house republicans -- large nee taylor greene and thomas massie announced plans to remove mike johnson as speaker next week. they talked about their reasons in a news conference at the capitol.

ms. greene: good morning, everyone. thank you for taking the time to come out this morning. it's really easy once you get elect and come to washington, d.c. to put it in cruise control and just go along with the status quo. but that's not why i ran for congress, and that's not why i came to washington, d.c. as a matter of fact i was one of the americans in 2016 that looked at a presidential stage of 17 republican candidates, and the only one that stood out to me was donald john trump. the very man that stood out, represented republican voters and americans all over the country that were sick and tired of a republican establishment failing us over and over again. that's why i supported him in 2016. that's why i supported him in 2020. and that's why i support him now. so what happened when president trump became president and the republican majority in the house and the republican majority in the senate is the republican

establishment under paul ryan failed president trump and failed the agenda that we wanted to get done. they passed a $1.3 trillion omnibus that did not fund the wall, after we stood at trump rally after trump rally and said, build the wall. they failed us. they funded the agenda, they funded the status quo that washington, d.c. just wants to keep going and keep going. and you know what happened? that's why republicans lost the mid terms in 2018. and nancy pelosi became speaker. republicans didn't fight. they allowed the russia hoax and then what happened when democrats took over the house? it was impeachment number one and the entire war against president trump continued and that war on president trump is the war on the same voters today that are ready to go and vote for that man in november and put

him in the white house in january. and that's exactly what is happening. he's winning poll after poll after poll because he's the only one fighting while republicans in the house and republicans in washington continue to cave and be part of the union party. -- of the uniparty. mitch mcconnell has 56% approval rating for a reason and that's because he's caved to the democrats and continued the disgusting business model in washington, d.c. that thrives on forever wars and thrives on building a bigger government and taking away the freedom bit by bit by bit of americans. republican voters in america, americans altogether, gave republicans the house. they gave us the house in 2022. you want to know why? because they were fed up with the democrat agenda that is destroying this country. wide open borders. an economy that's crashing.

freedoms being stolen. covid shutdowns. all the horrors that happened when joe biden took the white house and democrats took full control. that's why we won the house in 2022. but what have we done with it? what are we giving republican voters to vote for? president trump is the reason why people are going to turn out in november. and i am here fighting every single day to push my party to be a republican controlled majority that will fight and pass his agenda when he's in the white house in january and right now we are not that republican majority. we have a speaker, mike johnson, that we all -- by the way, i elected him. i voted for that man. i have so every right to be standing here. it wasn't a choice of america. it was a choice within our republican conference.

and i voted for mike johnson. because his voting record before he became speaker was conservative. he voted against funding ukraine. he was solidly pro life. he voted to secure the border. he voted to fight against democrats. fight against the witch hunt against president trump. but once he became speaker he's become a man that none of us recognize. he passed three continuing resolutions. and then he finally passed a two-part omnibus that fully funded joe biden's agenda and the democrat agenda. funded the department of justice that is -- that wants to put president trump in jail for the rest of his life which is a death sentence. mike johnson fully funded the f.b.i. which raided mar-a-lago and he gave them a brand new building as a gift. pro-life mike johnson funded

full-term abortion clinics. funded the trans agenda on children. the 70 -- that 70% of americans are completely against on both sides of the aisle. and he fully funded joe biden's open border policies. the number one issue in america. so i entered a motion to vacate. i didn't call it for a vote. i was controlled. i was responsible. i was being conscious and caring about my conference and our majority. it was a warning. to stop serving the democrats and support our republican conference and support our agenda. and he didn't do it. and we all went home. and republican voters everywhere, americans were raging at mike johnson. and he doubled down. he didn't change course. he continued. and when we came back he re-authorized fisa. and he was the deciding vote

himself to stop the warrant requirement of fisa. he volted it down. when only six months before that, before speaker, he was for it. that was the second betrayal. and then we all went home and america raged. and i was still responsible. i was still patient. and i was still being careful with our republican majority. and then we came back. then we came back. and that's when mike johnson fully joined the disgusting business model of washington, d.c. to fund forever wars. yes. that's what this is. the uni party is make ukraine great again. the uni party is all about funding every single foreign war. they think this is the business model that needs to be done.

americans do not want to send their hard-earned tax dollars to fund the murder and killing in foreign countries, they're fed up with it. and they're screaming it as loud as they possibly can. our economy should not be built on the blood of wars in foreign countries. that's not what our economy should be built on. that's not how you grow jobs in america. that is horrific. it is evil. it needs to end. but that's what the uni party does. that's what they continue. mike johnson fully embraced this and he funded $61 billion -- $61 billion more to ukraine. funded a war in israel. while he funded hamas in gaza. how do you support israel when you're funding hamas? and gave more money away while our border stays open and today 349 americans -- and today 300

americans will die from fentanyl, tomorrow 300 americans will die from fentanyl and the next day 300 more americans will die from fentanyl poisoning because there's a war on america led by the cartels in mexico and nobody in washington, d.c. gives a damn and has enough courage to face it. and americans are sick of it. sick and tired and fed up. and you want to know something? nobody wants to rock the boat in washington, d.c. oh, no. that would be uncomfortable, marjorie. we don't want to face the issues, marjorie. let's just wait and get through the election, marjorie. let's just assume president trump is going to win and we'll fix it next congress, marjorie. i'm sorry, how many more americans have to die? how many more dead american bodies have to pile up before the house of representatives that's paid for by american tax dollars actually does something about it? i want to know when this town is

going to give a damn about americans. and that's what this is really about. there's one thing i know. there's one thing i know. if we get president trump back in the white house in january of 2025, and we are lucky enough to earn the trust again from voters in america to have a republican majority in this house of representatives, we have a job to do. we cannot let people down again. we cannot fail president trump. and this cannot happen. the maga agenda that i believe in, the make america great again agenda that i support and americans support and the whole reason why republicans are going to turn out and vote in november, because they support president trump, we need leaders in the house of representatives that are going to get this done. not working for hakeem jeffries.

not working for joe biden. and not going to be twisted and lulled into continuing the disgusting practice of washington, d.c. mike johnson is not capable of that job. he has proven it over and over again. now we have hakeem jeffries and the democrats coming out, embracing mike johnson with a warm hug and a big wet sloppy kiss. and they are ready -- they have endorsed him. they are ready to support him as speaker. they want to keep it going. keep the band together. why? because mike johnson is giving them everything they want. everything they want. every single thing they want. so it's really interesting to me, hakeem jeffries has gone through round after round of speaker votes and we've all witnessed it, haven't we, america? and i want to tell you, i think it's good that america witnessed

all of that. and the democrats said his name over and over again. they said hakeem jeffries. because they wanted to election him speaker. i find it very satisfying that they are ready to vote for mike johnson. and you want to know something? i want to see it happen. and i also want to see recorded votes. i think the american people, by the way, who i represent, i think the american people need to see a recorded vote of members of congress support -- do the member of congress support the uni party, is this what they support? i think every member of congress needs to take that vote. and let the chips fall where they may. and so next week i am going to be calling this motion to vacate. absolutely calling it. i can't wait to see democrats go out and support a republican speaker and have to go home to their primaries and have to run for congress again, having supported a republican speaker,

a christian conservative. i think that'll play well. i'm excited about it. and i also can't wait to see my republican conference show their cards and show who we are. because voters deserve it. if the republican party, have they finally learned their lesson? have they finally heard the message from voters back at home? are they willing to actually fight? or are they just going to keep going along to get along? because it's really easy to do that in washington, d.c. i'm going to tell you, at over $34 trillion in debt, with millions and millions of people invading our country, an economy that i don't even know how it's staig afloat because every business owner i know has been suffering, and people fed up with the drama on television and fed up with the fighting and fed up with the bullshit from washington, d.c., are ready far republican majority that's ready to support president trump and

his agenda in january of 2025 and i am happy to deliver that vote for everyone next week. at this time i'd like to turn it over to my good friend and ally here, thomas massie, and he'll explain his thoughts on this. thank you. mr. massie: it's an honor to be here with one of the hardest fight, most articulate members of the republican conference. i think she's gone about this in a very reasonable way. she's given the speaker multiple chances to resign. to leave. and instead he's clinging to pow bier clinging to democrats. what are the three betrayals that he has delivered to our party and to the country? the first betrayal was the omnibus will. -- omnibus bill. under kevin mccarthy we did seven separate spending bills. when mike johnson took over, did we start working on the other five? no, we threw the seven in the trash. all the hard work we had done,

mike johnson disposed of and decided to do an omnibus bill. an omnibus bill that spends more than nancy pelosi's omnibus bill. a bill that builds the f.b.i. a new billing. meanwhile in judiciary we're asking them for answers and they mock us, thumb their noses at us. and why shouldn't they? if we're going to build them a new building and send them strongly-worded lettersering, as if we're going to do something about their inceness lens. the second betrayal of mike johnson was passing fisa. passing fisa without warrants. did he did this in the proper way? no. the authority rests with the judiciary committee but mike johnson decided to let the intel committee run this program. when it came, we fought hard in the rules committee, fought hard in judiciary, got a vote on the floor on warrants, whether you should have to have a warrant to spy on americans.

this is a constitutionally redunn cant vote. it should be obviously to anybody that's read the constitution that you need warrants. and you can say well, poor mike johnson, he's got such a slim majority. you can't get everything you want. large retaylor greene or thomas massie. he's got such a slim majority. he was the slim majority that cast the deciding vote that says you can spy on americans without a warrant. it was 212-212. look it up he feel didn't vote on the other amendments. he went out of his way to vote no on that amendment and was the deciding vote on fisa without warrants. so what was the third betrayal? the third and final betrayal? nearly $100 billion for foreign wars and he just put that on the floor. it started out as a veterans bill to give veterans better benefit, h.r. 815. chuck schumer stripped every word out of it. put this supplemental in it. sent it back to the house.

then using the rules committee that i sat on, but i can't go along with what they did, they pretended like we voted on four separate bills. then after those votes passed, they changed them to amendments and concurred with the senate bill. and sent it back to the senate. this whole thing was preconference with chuck schumer. why is it that on all three betrayals, the senate didn't change a word of these bills when they went to the senate from the house? it's because mike johnson was doing chuck schumer and joe biden'sed bying. they didn't need to -- biden's bidding. they didn't need to change the bill. chuck schumer fought against the amendments. he wanted the bills exactly as mike johnson had passed them. exactly as mike johnson promised. fisa without warrants. the omnibus with the new building for the f.b.i. and $100 billion in foreign aid with no border security in it. as ms. greene stated, our border

is wide open. wide open. this was our last chance for leverage. the speaker gave it all up. now why would hakeem jeffries endorse a republican speaker? aren't they arch rivals? i mean what does a hakeem jeffries want, after all? he wants an open border, he wants increased spend, he wants to take back the majority and most of all, he and the democratic conference here want president trump to lose. who do they think they can deliver on all of those things. mike johnson will deliver those things for them, open borders, a loss for the majority and a loss of president trump. this is so demotivating. we sat here and watched total capitulation with the democrats waving flags that was premeditated of another country, not the american flag. you know, mike johnson should have brought the white flag and waved it in front of us. because it was a complete

capitulation, a humiliation, not just to us but all the american people who pay their tax dollars only to see them go overseas, fund foreign wars, secure other country's borders without securing our borders. i'm going to challenge my colleagues to think about it this weekend, because as marjorie taylor greene said, we're coming back and voting on this next week. and you get to have the choice if you're a republican. are you going to embrace hakeem jeffries like mike johnson has? are you going to embrace the uni party like mike johnson has when you come back next week? are you going to fight for americans who gave us the majority? and you may say oh, well, this is lovely bipartisanship. look, you've got make keep jeffries hugging speaker mike johnson and helping him keep his seat. but the reality is this isn't policy. this isn't like some criminal

justice reform where the left and right can agree. this is about who holds that gavel. right now they're both holding that gavel. they are sharing power, about procedures, about what bills will come to the floor. about how long we will debate those bills and which committees are comprised of which members. they are sharing power. now, you may say, and i'll close with this, hakeem jeffries just told you he's going to save mike johnson. so why go through with this? it's a futile exercise? why would you go through with this? look, we didn't get elected to make excuses. we didn't get elected to say we shouldn't try. we got elected to come here and give it our best, and also to expose transparency. what we've seen here is the coming out of the uni party and

it will be consolidated and transparent and apparent next week to all americans when this vote happens. too many of our colleagues have thrown up their hands in frustration and apathy, we shouldn't even try, let's just coast this one out. let me tell you something, it's too dangerous to coast this one out. we cannot coast this one out. hakeem jeffries knows if we coast this out we lose the majority and spending goes up next fall and he knows the border will stay open and he knows this will demotivate our voters because they've given up, why should we try? they're not going to give up, we will fight the uniparty and have this vote next week and i look forward to it. and i have one last challenge, to challenge members of my own conference to think long and hard about whether they want to join the uniparty next week because we have a leadership team, a team of leaders.

we have a team because when one of them goes off the rails, the other of them can meet with them. they can say you're no longer suited for this job. i challenge the whip, the policy chair, everybody in our conference to sit down with mike johnson and have that talk and tell him, it's not worth it, mike. it's not worth it to share power with hakeem jeffries just for the vanity of you keeping title of speaker. it doesn't serve our country, it doesn't serve our conference. they need to ask him to resign. that is what they should do. and i challenge them to have that tough discussion. now i'll take questions. reporter: if this fails next week as expected, will you continue to try to force a vote on this issue. and president trump has said is positive things about the

speaker and said he doesn't favor a motion to vacate. -- [inaudible] ms. greene: i fight against trump's agenda every day. mike johnson fully funded the department of justice that wants to put president trump in jail giving him a death acceptance. he fully funded the f.b.i. that raided mar-a-lago and gave them a brand-new building. he fully funded biden's wide open border. the american people know and everybody voter that's ready to line up and vote for president trump in november knows between me and mike johnson who is supporting president trump and the agenda, that's absolutely me number one. if this vote fails and the whole congress supports the uniparty, let me tell you something, it's not a failure. it's a win for the american people because that's a list of names and the voters and the

american people who pay for everywhere -- we're standing on ground they pay for. they pay for that building and deserve that list and i believe in recorded votes. that is our job. our job is to vote and if anyone is scared of where they're going to vote on a motion to table or if it goes further, they don't belong in washington and they have to be ready to build a hard job. reporter: why move forward in defiance of former president trump and why next week and not today? ms. greene: we have to have a republican majority in january and under mike's leadership we're not going to have one. and republican voters, like massie just said, hakeem jeffries is endorsing mike johnson because he knows mike johnson's leadership is going to hand the house majority to the democrats in january. it will make our voters not want to vote for him. they're going to turn out and vote for president trump the top of the ticket and skip republican house members because

they're disgusted with mike johnson, his leadership and his speakership of the majority party. we have to win in norv and have a majority in the house. you want to know why? all you people, your taxes will go up if the democrats control the house. that's right, the whole tax cuts. you know president trump's tax cuts and savings plan? guess what? it expires this year and whoever controls the house of representatives, if it's mike johnson and hakeem jeffries holding hands together, your taxes are going up, ladies and gentlemen. and you want to know what else? your money is going to be funding ukraine because they already want more money for ukraine. they're demanding it already. that check cleared and it wasn't even a week and they said ukraine will need more money by the end of the summer. the americans don't want it. reporter: why not today? ms. greene: everyone needs the weekend to prepare. i'm not irresponsible. i care about my conference.

i've given this time and given warning after warning after warning and why we don't have to rush, we can do it next week. reporter: also, i think this is a somber decision for mike johnson, he deserves the weekend to think about it. he should resign because he knows what's coming next week. what's coming is his sharing of power with hakeem jeffries. i'm not going to concede the vote will fail. i think hakeem had to get in front of the freight train because he didn't believe he would have enough democrats who would save mike johnson. i don't think it was something he wanted to do. because now it's going to happen. he's going to embrace mike johnson and the question is will there be enough democrats to overcome the republicans who come to their senses this weekend? they've got a weekend to think about it, but more importantly,

mike johnson has a weekend to think about it. reporter: congresswoman, if this resolution is tabled on monday, will you continue to force votes on it? ms. greene: i haven't made a decision on that yet. reporter: how do you respond to speaker johnson who just last night said you're not a serious lawmaker and it's not speaker johnson, who should be holding that gavel? ms. greene: i'm not into personal attacks. that's not why i'm doing this. this has nothing to do with mike johnson as a person. but about his job performance and i believe in accountability. i voted for mike johnson as speaker. every single day when i'm out and about talking to folks in my district or traveling across the country, the one phrase i hear over and over again is keep fighting. keep fighting. they do not want us to back down. they don't want us to put it in

cruise control and go along to get along and that is what that is. that's exactly what that is. that is full surrender to the very agenda that voters all over america said enough, and in 2022, they gave us the majority to stop the democrat agenda, so i'm not going to surrender. as thomas massie said, when they were waving the ukraine flag on the united states house of representatives floor, that is complete surrender, doing nothing for our border but securing the border of foreign countries and continuing to fund the slaughter and the battlefields and the bombs and the horrific injuries and wiping out a full generation of ukrainian men that will leave women as widows and children as orphans. the american people don't want to pay for that. that's what mike johnson is for.

we have people -- go ahead. mr. massie: that charge is leveled to mike johnson by marjorie taylor greene. you're saying he said she's not a serious lawmaker. reporter: in an interview last night. mr. massie: in an interview last night. she's the most articulate representative here. if you listened to the speech she just gave captured what republicans at home are thinking. what does it mean to speaker mike johnson to be a serious lawmaker? i think it means something different now than it meant six months ago or a year ago when he was a rank and file member because now to him a serious lawmaker means betraying our conference and going with the majority of the democrats and abandoning a majority of republicans. i don't think that's a serious speaker. i also don't think it's a serious constitutionalist to cast the deciding vote on whether you need a warrant to spy on americans and getting rid of the warrant provision. i think he needs to look in the

mirror before he criticizes ms. marjorie taylor greene. reporter: given the speaker's situation, ramming through joe biden's agenda, would there be a difference between hakeem jeffries as speaker and mike johnson as speaker? ms. greene: you clearly listen to people more than this town. that's what people are saying everywhere. it's all over the internet and comments and being said in coffee shops. it's being said -- you go to the town square, that's what people are talking about. what is the difference between mike johnson and hakeem jeffries? people are saying they see no difference. there is no difference because mike johnson is sharing the gavel. they're holding it together. mike johnson is not fighting. he's giving hakeem jeffries full power and why hakeem jeffries has given him the biggest endorsement of his lifetime and that is the last thing the american people wanted to see.

mr. massie: by the way, on that point about sharing power, it wasn't just hakeem jeffries who endorsed mike johnson, it was their whip and it was their caucus chair. their entire leadership team plans on getting a promotion in january thanks to mike johnson. where is our leadership team? they need to be as united as hakeem's team is. and they need to surround mike johnson and say, mike, it's time to leave. reporter: congresswoman, last time it took weeks for you all to coalesce to even get somebody who wanted to be there. who do you have in mind this time around to prevent congress from shutting down and not doing its work? ms. greene: we have people capable. anyone will to fight for our agenda. anyone who refuses to share the power with hakeem jeffries. that's something we're capable

of doing, if we decide to do it. this republican conference can do it. i have watched us do great things. just as thomas massie said, before they ousted kevin mccarthy, we passed seven separate appropriation bills. we were passing incredible bills that lined up with exactly why people voted for us. once mike johnson took over, he completely stopped it all. we only had five left and he just let them go. [inaudible question] ms. greene: what our conference is capable of doing is electing someone that is ready and willing to lead. and i have full faith and confidence we can do it. we just have to do it. mr. massie: also, from the very beginning, mike johnson has had the chance to save us from what happened in october. look, he is a lame duck. he's not going to get re-elected in january. he's not going to lead us to any policy wins. he's not going to cut any spending.

he's not even going to try. that's why hakeem wants him to remain as speaker. what should he do at this point? he should do what john boehner did. do you remember when john boehner left? he gave us notice and instead of not having a speaker, we allowed him to remain speaker while we did, as an extracurricular activity, elect another speaker. we had to come in every day of every week and we all had the same meeting and we couldn't do subpoenas and investigations and everything came to a stand still. mike johnson can save us from that ultimate outcome if he wants to step down. and announce he's stepping down 10 weeks from now and allow us to function. that's why we're giving him one more weekend to think about it.

reporter: are you worried about what they're doing close to an election and took three weeks last time and will it hurt republicans come november? ms. greene: we're not having a house majority. here's the other thing. this is may 1. we have to weigh in in november. we're going to win the house majority when we prove to our voters who we're voting for. that's the most important thing we can do. president trump, lots say mike johnson stays speaker. the only way we will get the house majority in november is because president trump dragged everybody across the line and that could happen but the reality is it people are going to cast their vote based on this garbage here, they'll go to the democrats.

like this man said, they have no difference. what's the difference. reporter: to be sure, if you don't want to name names barring who they're thinking about right now, the fact of the matter is you have mike johnson because republicans didn't even have a group of names to begin with. so do you have a short list in mind right now? are you kind of mulling, do you have a group of people that are sort of thinking about it? mr. massie: let's be honest, we have mike johnson because nobody hated mike johnson. there was nothing in his prior life, political or private, that qualified him for this job. he is lost in tall weeds. he's unequipped to negotiate with chuck schumer and a lot of people have ideas about why he's betrayed us. i think it's simple, he's over his head. i would say there are at least a dozen members who politically or

privately have done things in their mind who qualified them to leave and i would be willing to consider any of them and we don't have a list. reporter: what do you say to republicans who are saying you are playing into the hands of democrats and this will cause not to have unity. ms. greene: that echo is a lie and comes from the establishment that republican voters are ready to take a sledgehammer to and destroy, they're fed up with it. you want to know why? that's bullshit, it just is. reporter: a few weeks ago congressman go star said he'd support a motion to vacate, do you still have his support? ms. greene: oh, yeah, absolutely. he had another thing he had to attend to. absolutely. reporter: the motion to vacate, you said you're holding it back but it took weeks to elect

speaker johnson. how do you not risk another leadership crisis? ms. greene: that's the same question we answered several times now. you have another question. reporter: even though it's been asked, this is the time to clean house? mr. massie: not in september or october when he betrays us with another c.r. or omnibus. this is the time to clean house. we're not even done with primaries yet. people aren't focused right now on their general elections and still trying to win their primaries. this is when we should take out the garbage, take out the trash, solve these problems we have so we can be a united conference. so we can have somebody in the speaker's chair who has an incredible chance of winning speaker in january. hakeem and his cohorts and colleagues may bail out mike johnson next week. that remains to be seen whether it's a bluff or not. but we know they're not going to

vote for him in january. we know mike johnson can't get a majority of republicans in january. even our colleagues who aren't co-sponsors of this have privately admitted there's no way in hell they're going to vote for mike johnson to be speaker in january. is so that's why we need to handle it now, put somebody in that seat who can lead our conference and present a united front to republicans who are going to go vote in november. reporter: are either of you considering running for speaker? ms. greene: everybody, we're going to end the press conference. what i'm calling on, like my colleague said, mike johnson can do -- pray about it and think about it all weekend and resign, giving our conference time to elect a new leader, a new speaker of the house. he should reject the endorsement of hakeem jeffries and the entire democrat leadership team. that's not an endorsement that any republican speaker should ever want or