Marjorie Taylor Greene is ready to stop Kevin McCarthy from being the GOP speaker
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) is ready for a battle over a Republican Speaker of the House should the GOP retake Congress.
Republicans are already measuring the curtains in plans to take over the House even though the election is still a year away.
Jonathan Karl's new book Betrayal makes it clear that current GOP House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) isn't a fan of former President Donald Trump, but he's willing to do whatever it takes to keep from becoming political roadkill. Karl asked why he wasn't brave enough to stand up to Trump, pointing to the monuments of Washington to political leaders willing to stand up for what's right. McCarthy cited people like Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Rep. Mark Sanford (R-SC), both of whom were willing to stand up to Trump and ended their political careers.
Trump is already dangling the speaker position over McCarthy's head, CNN reported this week. The piece explained that their control over the Republican Party emboldens MAGA world.
Thursday, it was revealed that Greene is among those eager to thwart McCarthy's leadership should the GOP win, a different CNN report said. Instead, she wants a speaker that is closer to the MAGA leaders loyal to Trump.
"We know that Kevin McCarthy has a problem in our conference. He doesn't have the full support to be speaker," Greene said during an episode of Rep. Matt Gaetz's (R-FL) podcast that aired Thursday. "He doesn't have the votes that are there, because there's many of us that are very unhappy about the failure to hold Republicans accountable, while conservatives like me, Paul Gosar, and many others just constantly take the abuse by the Democrats."
McCarthy previously said that despite their ethics problems, Greene and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) would be reinstated under his leadership in the House. That still hasn't convinced Greene, however.
Greene, said that she will have a list of demands for anyone hoping to get her vote for speaker. Specifically, she wants GOP Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) and Liz Cheney (R-WY) kicked out of the Republican Party after they voted to support and serve on the Jan. 6 Select Committee. Kinzinger has already said he doesn't plan to run for office again, which Greene apparently forgot.
As for Cheney, so far she intends to run in 2022, and Trump has already endorsed her opponent Harriet Hageman, who only recently decided to become a Trump supporter.
Greene isn't alone. Many of Trump's loyalists have felt frustration with McCarthy in the past several weeks.
Given the gerrymandering of congressional districts and retiring officials, new ultra-right Republicans could be elected, giving McCarthy a math problem if they all stick together. Greene also wants New York Republican Rep. John Katko to lose his appointment as the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee. In fact, she wants him kicked out of the GOP. Katko's seat is a swing district, so if he turns right, he could be replaced by a more moderate Democrat.
"Katko's not a Republican. He's a Democrat," Greene said. "Our conference and the NRCC needs to stop playing this majority-maker game."
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