Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene removed from Freedom Caucus after calling fellow Republican a ‘little bitch’
The fight broke out because MTG wanted to be the first person to introduce impeachment articles against Biden, but Lauren Boebert beat her to it
The Republican Party’s first attempt to impeach U.S. President Joe Biden has resulted in a bitter fight within the group itself. Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Greene — who is one of Donald Trump’s most loyal allies — has been removed from the hard-line Freedom Caucus for calling fellow lawmaker Lauren Boebert a “little bitch” on the House floor. Since the row broke out in Congress, the political spectacle within the far-right Republican group has only intensified.
Marjorie Taylor Greene — who mistook the Gestapo for gazpacho while on a trip to Spain — is one of the best-known faces in the Republican Party, especially among Trump supporters. A promoter of conspiracy theories such as QAnon, the Republican is almost always at Trump’s rallies, and after the former president, receives the most applause at these events. Trump often speaks highly of Marjorie Taylor Greene — who is known by her initials MTG — and it was she who received a call from the former president when Republican hardliners finally agreed to elect Kevin McCarthy House speaker (a photo showed her cellphone flashing “DT”).
With her loyalty to Trump and far-right statements, there is no doubting the Georgia congresswoman’s radicalism. But Lauren Boebert, a Republican representative from Colorado, is not far behind. A fanatical defender of the right to bear arms, Boebert once ran a gun-themed restaurant, and she poses with her weapons in public as often as possible. Like MTG, she has a sharp tongue and far-right ideas. She has made Islamophobic comments in Congress, and was one of the members of the Freedom Caucus who held out voting for McCarthy until the end.
In the contest to be the most radical Biden opponent, Boebert was one step ahead. She used a procedural shortcut, known as a privileged resolution, to introduce articles of impeachment against Biden for his alleged “unconstitutional dereliction of duty at the southern border.” MTG had been planning her own impeachment articles over the same cause, a way of showing her support for Trump, who faced two impeachment trials: the first over allegations he requested the Ukrainian government investigate Biden’s son, and the second for his role in promoting the assault on the U.S. Capitol.
But Boebert beat her to it, and MTG was not pleased. A row between the two Republicans broke out in the House floor and was recorded by cameras. The exchange was not picked up by the microphones, but The Daily Beast reconstructed the brunt of Greene’s message thanks to a source. “I’ve donated to you, I’ve defended you. But you’ve been nothing but a little bitch to me,” Greene told Boebert, according to a source who witnessed the exchange. “And you copied my articles of impeachment after I asked you to cosponsor them.”
There were doubts about whether The Daily Beast source was trustworthy, but MTG later confirmed her dispute with Boerbert to Semafor. “She has genuinely been a nasty little bitch to me,” she said. When asked if there were any chance of reconciliation with Boebert, MTG replied: “absolutely not.”
The Freedom Caucus, the most far-right wing of the Republican Party in Congress, of which MTG and Boebert are both members, decided to intervene. Last week, Politico reported that the group had voted on the issue, but it was unclear whether MTG had been removed. A recess in sessions meant that the news was not confirmed until Thursday, when Freedom Caucus board member Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md. announced that she was no longer a part of the group.
“A vote was taken to remove Marjorie Taylor Greene from the House Freedom Caucus for some of the things she’s done,” said Harris. When asked if she was formally out, he replied: “As far as I know, that is the way it is.” There is no further information about the expulsion or about whether MTG has been notified.
In recent months, Marjorie Taylor Greene has distanced herself from some of the positions of other members of the Freedom Caucus. She supported electing Kevin McCarthy House Speaker very early on and also backed the agreement to suspend the debt ceiling, which outraged the most radical hardliners in the group.
On Thursday, MTG released a statement that, while not explicitly stating that she had been removed from the Freedom Caucus, infers that she is no longer part of the group. “In Congress, I serve Northwest Georgia first, and serve no group in Washington,” it stated. “My America First credentials, guided by my Christian faith, are forged in steel, seared into my character and will never change.”
“I will work with ANYONE who wants to secure our border, protect our children inside the womb and after they are born, end the forever foreign wars, and do the work to save this country,” it continued.
“The GOP has less than two years to show America what a strong, unified Republican-led Congress will do when President Trump wins the White House in 2024. This is my focus, nothing else,” it concluded.
In the meantime, MTG continues to push Trump’s interest from Congress. One of her latest initiatives is a proposal to expunge Trump’s 2019 and 2021 impeachments, which she described as a “sham” and the product of a “witch hunt.”
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