As she forced a vote on the House floor Wednesday to remove Speaker Mike Johnson from office, amid loud boos from Republicans and Democrats, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, paused briefly to watch back home. I narrated the drama to a number of people.
“This is a united party for the American people watching,” Greene sneered, peering over her glasses at her colleagues like a disappointed schoolteacher.
Ms. Greene continued to aim at Mr. Johnson, but was unsuccessful, but she knew the outcome was certain. The vote to block her attempt to remove him was an overwhelming 359-43, with all but 39 Democrats joining with Republicans to block her and rescue the Republican chairman.
The move emboldened Mr. Johnson and confirmed his status as leader of an unlikely bipartisan ruling coalition in the House of Commons, which Mr. Greene views as his ultimate enemy. Greene was then placed in isolation at the Capitol, where she was returned to the state she was in when she arrived in Washington three years ago. He was a provocateur and a subject of ridicule who seemed to enjoy causing major headaches to his colleagues.
“I hope that the personal politics and frivolous character assassination that have characterized the 118th Congress will end,” Johnson said after the vote.
The word “if possible” was very helpful.
If Greene's goal in Congress was to chair powerful committees or build political capital to advance major policy initiatives, all of this poses a big problem for her. right. But those were never the motivations that drove the kind-hearted woman from Georgia. Her parliamentary career has been defined more by pleasing her base and stirring up anger on the right than by her legislative accomplishments or political pragmatism.
In her mind, she got something even better by insisting on voting this week. It's evidence that Mr. Johnson betrayed his Republican base and allowed himself to be co-opted by Democrats as he worked with them to pass a number of major bills. Many in her party were behind the deal, including one that would send aid to Ukraine.
“I'm excited about everything,” Green said in an interview Thursday, upbeat after the dramatic loss. “I fully expected that, even the boos from both sides. My district is very excited.”
On Wednesday night, centrist Republicans tried to distance themselves as much as possible from her, fearing that any association with her theatrics would alienate voters in their districts fed up with the endless chaos in the House. I tried to put
“All she wants is attention,” said Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Florida. “Today we gave her closure. Our entire conference said, 'Enough is enough, we don't need to hear her anymore.'”
Representative Mike Lawler, Republican of New York, must have called Ms. Greene “Marjorie of Moscow” more than a dozen times in the past week, while threatening to oust her. “Marjorie in Moscow has clearly come off the deep end,” he said Wednesday.
But if Greene is currently on the island, there is a good chance there is a rescue ship on the way to take her back to the mainland, as she hasn't been there long. Greene, once stripped of her committee assignments and treated like a pariah by Democrats, has been promoted by party leaders over the past two years, rated as a top adviser by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy and given the party's nod. It has been relied upon as a useful fundraiser. He was a vulnerable Republican and was publicly hailed as his dream teammate by centrist members of the party.
“Marjorie Taylor Greene, she's very sweet,” Rep. Jen Quiggans, an underdog Republican from Virginia, said at a recent event. “She's been very nice to me,” she said of Ms. Green and the other bomb-throwers in her party. They're on my team, right? They are my teammates. We all want the same thing. ”
Former President Donald J. Trump made it clear that she remains on his good side. She waited for the House to block Greene's ouster on Wednesday night, posting a message on social media urging Republicans to do so. And before praising Mr Johnson, she wrote: “I love Marjorie Taylor Greene with all my heart. She has spirit and fight and I believe she will be with us and by our side for a long time to come.” ”
Who needs a hug if it means being abandoned by her party?
“He's not mad at me at all,” Greene said Thursday of the former president. “I talked to him a lot. He's proud of me.”
Greene said she spoke with Trump after he issued a statement Wednesday night saying Republicans should refrain from firing the speaker, at least for now, to win the November election. “He hid from everyone,” she said. “I told him this statement was great.”
Democrats don't want Republicans to quickly run away from Greene, the most prominent Republican in the House.
Missy Cotter Smasall, a Democrat running against Mr. Quiggans in coastal Virginia, said voters were “surprised and disgusted by her comments calling Marjorie Taylor Greene a teammate.” .
Even though Ms. Quiggans voted Wednesday night to kill Ms. Greene's effort, Mr. Smasall the next day returned it to the Republican Party's It was used as a cudgel against opponents. .
“Jen Quiggans’ appointment made Marjorie Taylor Greene’s disruption possible,” she said. A spokeswoman for Ms. Quiggans did not respond to a request for comment.
“When Republicans lose their majority in November, it will be because so-called moderates have made Marjorie Taylor Greene their party mascot,” said Justin Charmol, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. . On Wednesday, New York Democratic Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries sent a fundraising email detailing how Greene had “threatened to plunge Congress into further chaos, crisis, and chaos.” .
Greene laughed off the idea that her actions would help elect Democrats this fall. It's an argument that everyone from Mr. Trump to Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has tried to dissuade from moving to oust him.
“Republicans are going to come out in droves for Trump,” she said. Using the acronym for “Republicans in Name Only,” she continued, “Then they go down and get the RINO Republicans that they elected many times over, who didn't impeach Biden, impeached Biden.” You're going to see no action taken against the Republicans who didn't do it.'' Border — They're going to see that guy, they're going to call him names under their breath, they're going to ignore his name. ”
Greene said Thursday she doesn't really care if she's isolated.
“If I were on the island, I would be doing exactly what I came here to do,” she said.
“I'm very comfortable rocking and flowing at parties,” she added. “I get to be their biggest cheerleader, supporter, defender, and donor. I gave like half a million to the National Republican Campaign Committee. I'm a team player. They betrayed us. When I am completely with the people.”
In 2023, Greene will lead a fragile House Republican Party, including colleagues representing districts won by President Biden in 2020, such as Rep. David Schweikert of Arizona and Rep. Mike Garcia of California. He made the greatest contribution to more than a dozen election campaigns.
On Thursday morning, Ms. Greene revealed that Mr. Johnson's torture was not yet over.
“Speaker Johnson is the United Party Speaker of the House of Commons!” she exclaimed on social media.