GOP lawmakers fear Marjorie Taylor Greene will blow up their plans: report

According to a report from Politico, there is a battle brewing among Republican Party House members over a drive to impeach President Joe Biden over his handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal -- and worries that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) could turn it into a disaster.

At issue is separate factions within the GOP caucus who either urging House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to make plans for the eventual impeachment of Biden -- and other members of his administration -- and those who are urging caution that it may look like grandstanding for the base that would likely fail.

According to Politico's Oliva Beavers, "The House minority leader has repeatedly pushed back on rank-and-file Republicans who want to make a high-stakes call for impeaching Biden over his handling of Afghanistan — a vow that would come due should the GOP take back the chamber next November. But multiple House Republican sources said that even before Tuesday's fraught end to the U.S. military mission, their offices were being bombarded with calls from base voters for a future Biden impeachment or another more forceful response against the administration."

The report notes the hard-right Freedom Caucus held meetings last week to discuss the prospect of impeachment but has held off making a public announcement while at the same time admitting they feel the need to do something while it is still a hot topic for the base.

According to Rep. Barry Moore (R-AL), "It's a grassroots pressure — we're feeling it."

Politico's Beavers adds, " Freedom Caucus members were 'preparing for calling for resignations and or impeachment' last week, this GOP lawmaker said, but were also realistic about the Democratic line of succession.Some Republicans say privately that they have raised the ascension of Vice President Kamala Harris to constituents as a reason why they are not behind impeachment."

"Some people are gonna want to do it just for show, to show the base back home they're doing something. But the great tragedy about all of it is, this is exactly what we said would happen when Democrats weaponized impeachment last time," explained a senior GOP lawmaker who asked their name not be used. "The Republican base is going to demand it as soon as we get the majority, if not now ... So everybody will be in a real bind."

Additionally, there are worries about the controversial Taylor Greene interjecting herself too forcefully into the impeachment debate which could cause a backlash.

According to the Politico report, "Some members of the conservative group are worried that efforts to mobilize House Republicans that way would flop if freshman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) became the leading face of an impeach-Biden push."

Beavers added, "Greene has already introduced resolutions calling for Biden's impeachment that have received little traction in the GOP conference, and her controversial reputation has some colleagues concerned that she would dissuade other members outside the Freedom Caucus from joining."

One other GOP lawmaker worries the party may be getting ahead of itself.

"It's too early," said Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE). "Also, when I think about impeachment, you know, it's high crimes and misdemeanors. What I see is gross incompetence and weakness. So we're gonna have to work our way through what that means."

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