TOPLINE

 

The House Freedom Caucus ejected Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) last month after she repeatedly broke with the coalition to side with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)—a move that emphasizes right-wing members’ commitment to leveraging its outsize power under the GOP’s slim majority in the House.

KEY FACTS

The caucus of approximately 40 lawmakers voted to remove Greene “for some of the things she’s done,” Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), a caucus board member, told Politico on Thursday.

While tensions between Greene and her fellow caucus members have been brewing for months, Harris alluded to her expletive-filled verbal attack on Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) as the “straw that broke the camel’s back.”

Last month, Greene reportedly called Boebert a “little b—-h” on the House floor after Boebert forced a vote on a resolution to impeach President Joe Biden, weeks after Greene introduced her own impeachment resolution against Biden.

Greene’s alliance with McCarthy, who has repeatedly been forced to negotiate with the House Freedom Caucus to earn the support he needs to move key issues through the House (including his own speakership bid), was also a factor in the caucus’s decision, Politico reported last month.

Harris indicated the decision on Greene might not be final, telling Politico “as far as I know, that is the way it is.”

TANGENT

Greene did not deny the Daily Beast report about her fight with Boebert, telling reporters the story was “impressively accurate.”

KEY BACKGROUND

Greene is reportedly among several members the House Freedom Caucus was considering ejecting over a perceived lack of loyalty or inaction, Politico reported last month. The Freedom Caucus has repeatedly exercised its newfound power under the slim 222-213 Republican majority in the House by forcing leadership to cave to its demands in exchange for their cooperation on measures supported by the majority of the Republican conference. Some Freedom Caucus members have expressed a need for ultimate unity given the precarious dynamics. Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) told Politico about 80% of the House Freedom Caucus has been united on most issues, but said “on some big issues, we have not been able to get there,” adding that Greene has “been critical of us for a long time.” In addition to criticizing Boebert, Greene publicly rebuked members who suggested ousting McCarthy as speaker over the debt ceiling deal he negotiated with Biden.

FURTHER READING

Marjorie Taylor Greene Could Be Booted From Freedom Caucus (Forbes)

House Avoids Impeaching Biden, Rebuking Hard-Right Boebert In Latest Display Of GOP Divisions (Forbes)

How Kevin McCarthy Forged an Ironclad Bond With Marjorie Taylor Greene (The New York Times)