Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), an ardent supporter of Donald Trump, tried to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) last week for allowing the approval of fresh aid for Ukraine. She failed, with Democrats joining most Republicans to defeat the motion to vacate in a lopsided 359-43 vote. Johnson said he appreciated the show of support and hoped “this is the end of the personality politics and the frivolous character assassination that has defined the 118th Congress.”
Many of Greene’s GOP colleagues booed her in what Newsweek described as a sign she has “lost Republicans.” Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said his party’s “decision to stop Marjorie Taylor Greene from plunging the House of Representatives and the country into further chaos is rooted in our commitment to solve problems for everyday Americans in a bipartisan manner.” Trump, now campaigning to win back the White House, defended Johnson and warned that Greene’s effort was stirring “chaos” at the wrong time, The New York Times reported. Greene has gone from the far-right fringes of the GOP caucus to a position of considerable influence as a voice of the MAGA faithful, but did she go too far this time?
MTG crossed a GOP red line
Marjorie Taylor Greene’s moment of influence could be over, said Jemima Kelly in the Financial Times. The Republicans who booed her were not worried it would “get them in trouble with The Big Boss,” even though she is the “embodiment of the MAGA faction of the GOP.” Trump may have needed her support “when he had to compete with the likes of Ron DeSantis for the right-wing base of the Republican party.” But now he has locked up the nomination and “doesn’t need her anymore.” It looks like MTG is “too MAGA for DJT.”
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Greene’s “public shaming was far too long in coming,” said Patricia Lopez at Bloomberg. Her defiance of Johnson’s peace offerings in private meetings “united a fractious GOP caucus” behind the speaker. Trump has obviously been “losing patience with Greene.” She was “booted from the House Freedom Caucus last year for attacking fellow Republicans,” and has “alienated” so many colleagues by showing “disregard for preserving a slim GOP majority in the House” that she appears to be a “spent force at this point.” Her humiliating defeat “should remind House Republicans that they can unify and put down agitators within their ranks when needed.”
She isn’t going anywhere
Johnson’s triumph gives the GOP a golden opportunity to start cleaning up its act, but don’t hold your breath, said Alex Shephard in The New Republic. “Unfortunately, Marjorie Taylor Greene isn’t going anywhere,” because she still has Trump’s support. Yes, he opposed the effort to take down Johnson. But he is “not really trying to chasten Greene, let alone excommunicate her.” He merely wants her to dial back the “intraparty dysfunction” while he tries to win over moderates he needs to take back the White House from President Joe Biden. “Once the election ends, Trump has little reason to play nice with his fellow Republicans,” and he’ll go back to rewarding bomb-throwers like Greene for their “blind loyalty.”
The liberal media will keep MTG relevant in the meantime, said Debra Saunders in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. She “made her bones trashing other Republicans,” and as long as she keeps it up CNN will keep airing everything she says. Greene immediately showed she has no plans to give up the “shameless stunts” she uses to stick it to the establishment, spinning Johnson’s survival as a victory for the “uni-party,” as if any bipartisan vote is proof that mainstream Republicans are in cahoots with Democrats. The media loves to play up that kind of vitriol from the far right. “So even though Greene failed bigly, expect to see her nightly on the news channels as she shares her views on the Capitol steps with press scrums hanging on her every word. MTG is, after all, the gift that keeps on giving.”
