The House Freedom Caucus confirmed that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., has been removed from the conservative group, citing her repeated “attacks” on GOP colleagues. “She’s not a member of the Freedom Caucus, and she shouldn’t be in the future,” Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo said in some of the most definitive comments yet about Greene’s status in the group. Greene, a fundraising powerhouse with an enormous social media following, has been one of former President Donald Trump’s top defenders on Capitol Hill. She is the first lawmaker to be ousted from the Freedom Caucus since it was started in 2015 by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, then-Reps. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., and Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., and others. The Associated Press has the story:
Why Freedom Caucus kicked out Rep. Greene
Newslooks- WASHINGTON (AP)
Marjorie Taylor Greene is scheduled to speak this weekend at a Turning Point Action conference along with a number of House Freedom Caucus members, a body from which the congresswoman was recently expelled following a vote.
The Georgia Republican could thus find herself face-to-face with current Freedom Caucus members including Rep. Lauren Boebert, who she allegedly called an expletive word on the House floor in June.
Both Greene and Boebert, from Colorado, are outspoken backers of Donald Trump, with their spat showing the extent of disagreements, both personal and political, between his key supporters. Polling indicates Trump has a substantial lead over the second placed candidate, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, in the race to be the Republicans‘ 2024 presidential nominee, though this has slipped slightly from June.
Turning Point Action is holding its conference on July 15 and 16 at the Palm Beach County Convention Center, in Florida. The group was founded in 2019 by Charlie Kirk as a spinoff from his Turning Point USA youth organization, with a particular focus on grassroots campaigning.
In addition to Greene, four House Republicans are listed as confirmed speakers at the event, all of whom are members of the House Freedom Caucus. These are Boebert, and Florida Representatives Matt Gaetz, Anna Paulina Luna and Byron Donalds. The conference is headlined by Trump himself, with other prominent speakers including former Fox News presenter Tucker Carlson and Steve Bannon, who served as Trump’s chief strategist in the White House for seven months.
Greene was voted out of the House Freedom Caucus at the end of June, just one week after her incendiary clash with Boebert on the House floor. Maryland Republican representative and Freedom Caucus member Andy Harris said: “A vote was taken to remove Marjorie Taylor Greene from the House Freedom Caucus for some of the things she’s done.”
Whilst declining to say how he voted, Harris cited Greene’s support for Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and the debt ceiling deal he negotiated with President Joe Biden, as factors, commenting: “I think all of that mattered.”
Greene’s backing for the debt ceiling agreement angered some on the Republican right, with Bannon calling for her to be primaried on his War Room podcast.
On June 21, Greene and Boebert had a verbal altercation in the House, footage of which attracted more than one million views from one Twitter post alone.
The argument was reportedly about the two congresswomen’s rival bids to impeach President Biden.
Greene said: “I’ve donated to you, I’ve defended you. But you’ve been nothing but a little B**** to me.” an expletive word.
“And you copied my articles of impeachment after I asked you to cosponsor them.”
Boebert reportedly insisted she hadn’t read Greene’s articles of impeachment.
Speaking to the publication Boebert didn’t deny the report, though she insisted “Marjorie is not my enemy. I came here to protect our children and their posterity. Joe Biden and the Democrats are destroying our country. My priorities are to correct their bad policies and save America.”
