On Monday, Marjorie Taylor Greene said she backs Kevin McCarthy for Speaker of the House following a prospective Republican controlled House of Representatives after Tuesday’s Midterm election.
McCarthy, who is currently the House Minority Leader, has been criticized by members of the House Freedom Caucus along with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell following lackluster results of Tuesday’s elections. Conservative congress members have pushed to delay leadership elections with McCarthy prospectively set to assume Speakership as members of the House Freedom caucus have threatened to vote against the Minority Leader should Republicans secure control of the House of Representatives.
Greene, a fellow member of the House Freedom Caucus, detracted from McCarthy’s critics, citing the need to “work together” while conceding she would “lean into” a GOP civil war.
“In order for us to succeed, we’re going to be forced to work together. That means we’re going to fight it out,” Greene said during her Monday appearance on Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast. “And I’m telling you, I’ve always said I’m not afraid of the civil war in the GOP. I lean into it.”
Notable: Marjorie Taylor Greene breaks from others in the Freedom Caucus, says it’s “risky” and a “bad strategy” to try to challenge McCarthy for speaker considering GOP likely to have razor thin majority. Wants to see her party unite behind McCarthy. https://t.co/xa1CwnnpCB
— Melanie Zanona (@MZanona) November 14, 2022
“I want to do everything I can to do my part within our conference to force the Republican party to be the party that is America First and saves this country,” Greene said, echoing a statement from last week vowing to hold her party accountable to first-time Republican voters.
“And because it is so difficult, and you have to fight as hard as possible — and Steve, you know what that’s like — we have to dig in sometimes, and we have to do everything we can to stop our enemy,” Greene continued. “The enemy is the Democrat Party. That’s the enemy of America, because they are destroying our country and selling us out. And so this is why our conference has to unify.”
“[Arizona Representative] Andy Biggs is one of my dearest friends. I love him to death,” Greene said, noting the Arizona Representative may challenge McCarthy for speakership, Politico reported. “We have to put someone in for Speaker that is going to be elected, and not allow the Democrats to pull away one or two [votes], because that’s what they want to do.”
“Do we want to watch a challenge for Speaker of the House simply because it’s a never-Kevin movement?” Greene said, comparing criticism of McCarthy to the 2016 “Never Trump” movement within the Republican party. “Do we want to see that challenge open the door to Nancy Pelosi handing the gavel to Liz Cheney? Is that what everybody really wants? Because I will not do it.”
McCarthy was presented a list of demands from Freedom Caucus members on COVID-19 accountability, according to Chair Scott Perry.
Earlier this year, opponents sought to disqualify the Georgia representative from seeking reelection by arguing the freshman Congresswoman allegedly encouraged rioters and engaged in “insurrection” during the Capitol riot on Jan. 6 2021. Georgia’s secretary of state and an administrative law judge dismissed the claims.
