Marjorie Taylor Greene Sends a Message to the Far Right

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, has made it clear through her recent actions that she won't bow to pressure from some conservatives.

This week, she emphasized this message by remaining steadfast in her support of Representative Kevin McCarthy's bid to become the next House speaker, despite efforts by multiple Republicans to block the California representative. Greene has voted for McCarthy in each of the six failed ballots that have taken place thus far for McCarty.

Since she was first elected in 2020, Greene has been one of the most outspoken Republicans in Congress, and she has enjoyed close working relationships with former President Donald Trump and multiple politicians who are frequently characterized as being on the "far right" of the political spectrum.

Among those right-wing allies of Greene has been Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida. In fact, Gaetz has been so aligned with the Georgia congresswoman that he even sat in the courtroom last spring during her hearing on whether she should be constitutionally barred from holding office because of her alleged role in the Capitol riots. (The judge ruled in Greene's favor.)

However, Greene and Gaetz are now sharply divided over McCarthy.

When McCarthy voted for himself to be speaker on Tuesday, Greene was among those who applauded. Gaetz, meanwhile, has continued to vote against McCarthy's bid. According to McCarthy, Gaetz even said he wouldn't care if Democratic Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York became speaker rather than the Republican leader.

Following Gaetz and other members of the Freedom Caucus remaining firm in their opposition to McCarthy, Greene publicly criticized the Florida lawmaker.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday after a meeting between McCarthy and Republican representatives, Greene questioned Gaetz for continuing to block McCarthy's speakership despite Gaetz calling a compromise on the GOP rules package "exquisite." Greene also took issue with Colorado Representative Lauren Boebert for not backing McCarthy after she reportedly took money from him for his reelection.

Greene's comments about Gaetz and Boebert came after CNN's Manu Raju on Monday tweeted out other remarks she made about Republicans who opposed McCarthy.

"MTG, who backs McCarthy, said tonight: 'If my friends in the Freedom Caucus, Matt Gaetz and others, will not take the win when they have it, they're proving to the country that they don't care about doing the right thing for America," Raju wrote. "'They're proving they're just destructionist.'"

While Greene has condemned McCarthy's opponents, some members of the far right are targeting her. Nick Fuentes, the Holocaust denier who controversially dined with former President Donald Trump in November, is among those who have come after Greene.

Writing in his Telegram channel, Fuentes called Greene a "hack" with "no political clout." He then made reference to publishing a "recording from the AFPAC III green room." Greene was a guest at February's AFPAC III (America First Political Action Conference), which was organized by Fuentes.

Laura Loomer, a right-wing activist and former congressional candidate, has also attacked Greene and promised to make efforts to get her out of office.

"MTG hooked her wagon to McCarthy because she doesn't have a mind of her own, & the stench will follow her for the rest of her career," Loomer tweeted on Wednesday. "In 2024, we will primary everyone who voted for McCarthy for Speaker."

On Wednesday, Greene called in to the The Charlie Kirk Show, where she further asserted that she's not willing to back down in regards to McCarthy.

"I am a conservative...our principles, our ideas, our policies—I'm fighting for those, and I'm going to continue to," Greene said.

She added that her fellow conservative lawmakers should not be "fighting over a speaker race, which makes the Republican Party look totally inadequate and not prepared to run the country. We have to prove we can run the country, so we can run the White House in 2024."

Newsweek reached out to Greene for comment.

Update 01/04/22 4:35 p.m. ET: This story has been updated to reflect that a sixth speaker vote occurred after an earlier version of the story was published.