Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., took a sharp tone with her House Freedom Caucus colleagues on Tuesday, blasting them over their clamoring for House leadership positions as part of their negotiations concerning who they will support in the fight for House Speaker.
‘I am furious,’ Greene told members of the media following a conference meeting about the ongoing battle between a majority of House Republicans and 20 holdouts refusing to support Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., for speaker.
‘We have been negotiating talking, debating back and forth in our conference trying to come to a really good rules package, and it’s amazing. As a matter of fact, I’ll quote Matt Gaetz. He said, ‘It’s exquisite.’ That’s what he said on our conference call on Sunday. But in that conference meeting there, we found out that there were several members — three in fact — that went in last night and were demanding positions for themselves,’ Greene said, referencing unnamed members of the Freedom Caucus.
‘I want you to know you all to know I have not done that for myself. The only thing I have done is debate and request and argue amongst my peers for the right things, for the rules package and for our agenda for the American people. And that’s the only thing I’ve done. I haven’t asked for one thing for myself, and I’m the only Republican that has zero committees,’ she said.
Greene was removed from her committees in 2021 by a full House vote, largely along party lines, over past incendiary comments that included QAnon conspiracies and claims that mass school shootings were staged. She apologized for her comments at the time.
‘You would think I would be the one in there asking for something, but I haven’t done that. But I find out that it’s my Freedom Caucus and my supposed friends that went and did that, and they asked nothing for me. Nothing. That’s what I found out in there,’ she added.
Greene went on to slam her colleagues that accepted re-election campaign money from McCarthy during last year’s midterm elections, but still chose not to support him for House speaker.
‘This is not anything about the country. This is all about Never Kevin. They just don’t like Kevin McCarthy. And you cannot be successful in anything if you aren’t able to walk in a room, make what you want, and get a deal done, and then walk with a ‘W,’ and get to work and not worry about who you like and who you don’t like,’ she said.
‘This is not about prom king. This is not about a pastor. This is about electing a person to sit in the speaker’s chair so that we can all get to work,’ she added.
The House will reconvene again on Wednesday to continue efforts to elect a new House Speaker.