Marjorie Taylor Greene calls out Matt Gaetz in new op-ed as battle with fellow Republicans escalates

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) called out Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) as she continued shoring up support for Kevin McCarthy as House speaker.

The Georgia Republican attacked Gaetz, a former ally who has pledged to oppose McCarthy's leadership bid, in a new op-ed for the conservative Daily Caller website, after feuding publicly with another ally, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), over the speaker race.

"Lying to the base is a red line for me, and that’s what five of my closest colleagues are doing when they claim a consensus House Speaker candidate will emerge as they oppose Kevin McCarthy," Greene wrote. "Here’s the reality: No one is running against Kevin McCarthy for Speaker."

Greene pointed out that Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) has supported McCarthy and intends to lead the House Judiciary Committee, and House whip Steve Scalise has also publicly backed the California Republican, and she accused GOP holdouts like Gaetz of sabotaging their majority agenda before the next Congress was even seated.

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"This 'Never Kevin' trick has been done before," she wrote. "Some in the Freedom Caucus ousted John Boehner using the same 'Vacate the Chair' rule that’s being demanded now. That’s how we got Paul Ryan as Speaker. The 'Never Kevin Five' are already vacating the chair by refusing to vote for our conference nominee while simultaneously demanding the 'Vacate the Chair' rule to remove the Speaker at a later date."

Greene warned her fellow arch conservatives, five of whom are preparing to block McCarthy, to be careful what they wish for in opposing his bid.

"Let’s start with my dear friend, Matt Gaetz," Greene wrote. "Many of his attacks against Kevin McCarthy are comparisons to Paul Ryan. It’s quite ironic given Matt’s very first vote in Congress was for Paul Ryan as Speaker. Even when we all knew Paul Ryan would never deliver the MAGA agenda. We had full GOP control and President Trump, with pen in hand, ready to sign America First legislation. This Republican failure is why I ran for Congress."

"All that said, Matt Gaetz is one of my favorite members of Congress," she added. "America needs his talent and intelligence to work alongside Jim Jordan on investigations for the Judiciary Committee, not blow things up before we begin."