House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is having a meeting of the minds with one of his most vocal detractors, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who has repeatedly threatened to force a vote on a Motion to Vacate to remove Johnson from his position.

The two lawmakers met on Monday and are set to have another sit-down on Tuesday. These meetings mark a critical juncture in their feud and for the Republican Party as a whole, raising speculation about the future of its leadership and legislative priorities.

At the center of the clash between Johnson and Greene are issues related to foreign aid, surveillance, and other matters. Greene escalated her criticism of the Speaker after he worked with Democrats to push through over $60 billion in aid to Ukraine and cast the tiebreaking vote in favor of legislation reauthorizing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) without an amendment that would have required federal agencies to obtain warrants before spying on American citizens.

Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Paul Gosar (R-AZ) also co-signed the effort to oust Johnson.

During a press conference on May 1, Greene was joined by Massie to announce plans to follow through with the Motion to Vacate. “He funded 61 more billion dollars to Ukraine. Funded a war in Israel while he funded Hamas in Gaza,” Greene said. “How do you support Israel when you’re funding Hamas?”

While it is not clear whether Johnson and Greene have come closer to finding common ground after their first meeting, Greene did not force the Motion to Vacate vote on Monday as she had promised previously.

Speaker Mike Johnson says he wants to lead the House in 2025, and isn't apologizing for meeting with his defectors as he works to beat back an ouster attempt.

Why it matters: Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) are making demands of Johnson as he looks to stave off a motion to strip him of his gavel. But GOP members argue concessions could come at a price.

Greene isn't fully backing down despite not advancing the motion after yesterday's two hour meeting in the speaker's office, a source familiar with the discussion told Axios.

Johnson, Massie, Greene and Gosar are set to continue discussions at 12:30pm ET on Tuesday.

Greene and her allies are pushing Johnson to require automatic cuts to government funding if the legislature does not complete its appropriations bills, stop aid to Ukraine, and use Congress’ power of the purse to cut funding to special counsel investigations, including Jack Smith’s effort to prosecute former President Donald Trump. They also want the Speaker to require the support of a majority of Republican lawmakers before advancing legislation.

These meetings could prove to be beneficial for both lawmakers. For Johnson, if he can come to an agreement with Greene and other conservative lawmakers, it might enable him to focus more on his job as Speaker while not having to focus on fending off attacks from his right flank. While his job appears to be secure at the moment, it would remove a nuisance that has been plaguing him since the votes on FISA and foreign aid.

Greene and the conservative wing of the GOP could stand to gain something from this as well. If she can get some concessions from the Speaker on the issues she has raised, then it would be a win for her too.

It is also worth noting that an agreement between the two could give Greene an excuse not to follow through with a Motion to Vacate that would almost surely fail. Both Democrat and Republican lawmakers have publicly stated they would not vote against Johnson if Greene tries to have him removed. Trump has also expressed his support for Johnson multiple times. An unsuccessful ouster attempt could blow up in Greene’s face. It is clear that now is definitely not the time to try removing Johnson as Speaker.

Being that we are in an election year, it seems likely that both sides will have to find a way to unify as November inches ever so closer. Pushing the nation through another fracas to find another Speaker would not redound positively on Republicans, who have only a slim majority in the House.