Marjorie Taylor Greene hopes to boost influence over GOP with help from scandal-plagued Tom DeLay deputy

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has hired an aggressive new chief of staff with a scandal-plagued background to boost her national profile.

The conspiracy-mongering Georgia Republican coaxed disgraced former House majority leader Tom Delay's one-time chief of staff, Ed Buckham, out of retirement as she looks to announce a round of endorsements for 2022 candidates, reported the Washington Examiner.

"I need some helpers in there," Greene said.

Executives from the Russian energy company Naftasib funneled nearly $3.4 million in the late 1990s to corporations linked to fraudster lobbyist Jack Abramoff and the U.S. Family Network that was operated by Buckham, who was never charged in the scheme.

"[Buckham is] a strong conservative, definitely believes in the America First agenda, has had more experience in the swamp, so to speak, probably than most people working on the Hill right now, and I need that wisdom and experience on my team to achieve what I'm looking to do, and so this is a serious hire," Greene said. "It's the first of more to come, and I'm not afraid of the controversy."

"What I am more interested in doing is bringing on a chief of staff that will help me achieve the things that I think need to be done for our country," Greene added, "and that is forcing the Republican Party to be the Republican Party they say they are on television and on the campaign trail, but actually doing it in action in the conference."

Buckham has been away from Capitol Hill for years, although he was a candidate in 2016 for chief of the House Freedom Caucus.

"I wouldn't come back for just any member, and I'm excited to get started," Buckham said. "I see Marjorie Taylor Greene as an absolute game changer, and that's why I'm coming back to the Hill to join her team. Congresswoman Greene is fighting to secure our border and make our country safe, stop the mountain of debt burying future generations, and to end the genocide of abortion in America. MTG truly wants to change Washington and put America First."