'I hate this job!' GOP strategist latest to warn of impending exodus of House Republicans
The surprise retirement of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) could be just the first in a series of explosive exits that could end the Republican House majority.
The firebrand Georgia congresswoman fired off parting shots in her announcement that a senior House Republican told Punchbowl News were widely shared grievances, saying "this entire White House team has treated ALL members like garbage." GOP strategist Dough Heye highlighted on "CNN News Central" what he found so unusual about the dynamic.
"The reality is we could have had this same conversation last week, last year, eight, 10, 12 years ago," Heye said. "What we've seen in Congress over now a generation is it has become a bad workplace. I remember very clearly walking to my car at 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2012, as the clock was striking midnight, I was leaving the office and I thought, I hate this job, and what we see is this happens more and more for members of Congress."
"What's unusual about this is it's members who are in the majority, so the ones who are actually charged with doing things, who are committee chairs, subcommittee chairs, it has become, and has been for a long time, a bad workplace," Heye added, "and I wouldn't be surprised to see more resignations or retirement announcements come over the coming weeks or months when members of Congress spend time with their families back home. Obviously, they've done that for several weeks during the shutdown, but Thanksgiving and Christmas, that's when we see those decisions get made."
That senior House Republican slammed the White House for "arrogance," saying President Donald Trump's team "threatened" lawmakers and refused to share credit for any positive gains, and former Biden staffer Meghan Hayes said she understands why others might be looking for the exits.
"They have to decide whether or not they're going to bend the knee to Trump or they're going to do what's right for their constituents," Hayes said, "and if they don't bend the knee to Trump, then they get a flacking from the MAGA base. They get harassed online, they get harassed in their districts, at town halls, and then they have a primary challenger that becomes extremely dirty and nasty, so I don't blame them for wanting to retire and not have to put up with that. They want to go there and do work for their for their district and for their constituents, and they're not being able to do that because Trump's agenda isn't working for them and isn't working for their constituents."
"So I understand why Marjorie Taylor Greene wants to leave, as well," Hayes added. "She can be a thorn in the side of MAGA, a thorn in the side to Republicans, a thorn in the side to Democrats, and make more money outside of Congress and probably be more effective."
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