Marjorie Taylor Greene Says She Shouldn't Be 'Punching Bag' After Vote Fury

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has said she shouldn't be used as a "punching bag" by conservative campaigners who opposed Kevin McCarthy's election as House speaker.

Appearing on The Charlie Kirk Show, broadcast by right-wing network Real America's Voice, she pointed out McCarthy had also been endorsed by Donald Trump and Representative Jim Jordan, widely seen as a conservative hardliner.

"I just also need to remind everyone while people are mad at me, President Trump endorsed and supported Kevin McCarthy, Jim Jordan endorsed, supported, voted for and nominated Kevin McCarthy. Over half of the Freedom Caucus voted and supported Kevin McCarthy and the majority of our conference did and guess what, our entire conference elected him on Friday," the Georgia Republican said.

"People are mad at me. I shouldn't be your punching bag. Be very clear eyed about what this is and I'll continue to prove exactly who I am through my actions and not my words."

McCarthy was finally elected as House speaker early on Saturday morning after 15 rounds of voting, in the longest contest for the position since 1859.

He won by 216 votes, versus 212 for Democratic candidate Hakeem Jeffries, while six Republicans voted "present."

McCarthy was initially opposed by around 20 members of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus, who argued he was insufficiently hardline to hold the position.

However, he had an outspoken ally in Greene who said it would be "bad strategy" to oppose McCarthy's election, during an appearance on Steve Bannon's War Room podcast in November.

Greene branded Republican rebels, who initially blocked McCarthy, as "destructionists" during an interview with The Independent.

"You can't accomplish anything if you just say 'never,'" she added.

Greene's support for McCarthy caused a rift between her and a number of other Republican right-wingers, including Colorado Representative Lauren Boebert.

Boebert attacked Greene for believing in "Jewish space lasers," a reference to a since deleted 2018 Facebook post in which she suggested Jewish banking families used lasers to trigger deadly wildfires. Greene hit back, saying Boebert "childishly threw me under the bus for a cheap soundbite."

During a later interview with the Associated Press, Boebert said that Greene had "showed up to a white supremacist conference," and added that the congresswoman seems "unhinged on Twitter."

Greene was also attacked over her support for McCarthy by Ali Alexander, one of the organizers of the "Stop the Steal" rally in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021, who branded her a "harlot."

Trump called a number of Republican holdouts urging them to back McCarthy, with the newly elected House speaker later thanking him for "helping get those final votes."

On Monday, a video posted on Twitter by Greene showing her preparing for last week's speaker votes was deleted following a copyright claim from hip-hop legend Dr. Dre.

In a statement the rapper said: "I don't license my music to politicians, especially someone as divisive and hateful as this one."

Newsweek reached out to Marjorie Taylor Greene for comment.