Greene is becoming a problem for the GOP — but its leaders won't stop her

Republican leaders at the beginning of the year urged Americans not to hold Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s long history of bigoted comments and support for conspiracy theories against her and to give her a chance before judging her as she took her seat in the House of Representatives.

Less than 10 weeks into her term, she has already become a major problem for them.

On Wednesday morning, Greene unsuccessfully tried to adjourn the House of Representatives before members could vote on passage of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. When 40 GOP colleagues joined with Democrats to oppose the motion, she went ballistic.

“With the woke progressive fire hose spraying on and on and on, my Republican colleagues are constantly saying they want to stop the Democrats. But when the time comes to stop them, it’s business as usual for some,” Greene complained in a press release. “Yet some Republicans are so annoyed at the inconvenience of voting, they are putting their personal schedules ahead of the wishes of the People who put them in office.

“By voting against my motion to adjourn, some of my Republican colleagues are siding with the Democrats and enabling their policies that will destroy America. These Republican votes are the 40 white flags of the Surrender Caucus,” she concluded.

It was the fourth time Greene has used the same parliamentary stunt to attempt to obstruct Congress and waste time. The disruption has not only upset the Democratic majority, but it has also proven a major pain for her Republican colleagues. Each time she’s tried it, a larger number of GOP lawmakers have voted against her motions to adjourn.

Last Wednesday, several of them apparently complained to her about the interference, which impeded a Committee on Foreign Relations markup session and a classified briefing.

“Some GOP members complained to me that I messed up their schedule,” Greene angrily tweeted. “I’m not sorry for interrupting fundraising calls & breakfast. GOP voters are tired weak Rs.”

More and more House Republicans have been openly critical of her strategy.

“It’s frustrating,” Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan told CNN on Wednesday. “I don’t see that this is resonating at home, the motions to adjourn. I mean it’s just a pain. It’s a pain in the ass.”

“It’s just pissing everyone off,” an unnamed Republican member told the network.

Rep. Buddy Carter, a Georgia Republican, added, “Tactics without reason, they go nowhere.”

After Democratic Rep. David Cicilline of Rhode Island suggested Wednesday that perhaps a rule change would be needed to restrict motions to adjourn, Greene responded by calling him “Rep. Mussolini.” Cicilline tweeted in response, “I’m an Italian and a Jew. Mussolini was a fascist dictator in league with Adolf Hitler, who murdered six million Jews. Marjorie Taylor Greene can get lost.”

Some House Republican leaders opposed Greene’s House primary candidacy last year, noting her history of bigoted statements and her embrace of the dangerous QAnon conspiracy theory. But after she won the GOP nomination in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, they embraced her and even gave her National Republican Congressional Committee funds.

In November, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy urged everyone to give Greene and other QAnon-backers “an opportunity before you claim what you believe they have done and what they will do.” He praised them for making the GOP minority caucus “very diverse.”

When Democrats moved to strip her of committee assignments in early February over her statements and actions, the GOP leadership rose to her defense. As he and 198 other Republicans voted not to hold her accountable for her “conduct,” McCarthy attacked Democrats for trying to “distract Congress.”

While she did not apologize, Greene tried to distance herself from her previous behavior, saying comments she made before being sworn in as a House member “do not represent me … do not represent my district, and they do not represent my values.”

But since taking office, she has embarrassed herself and the institution repeatedly.

She bullied the transgender daughter of a Democratic colleague, misgendered trans people, and falsely claimed that the proposed Equality Act would let men use women’s locker rooms and bathrooms.

She denounced the United States providing aid to other countries, among which she included Guam, which has been a U.S. territory since 1899.

She incorrectly claimed a proposal made by the House Agriculture Committee on forgiving loans to farmers would not apply to white people.

She also argued that a rule prohibiting guns on the House floor was the “real voter suppression.”

The American Independent Foundation reached out to McCarthy, House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, and House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney to see whether they believe Greene has now been given a sufficient chance to prove herself. None immediately responded.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.