WATCH: Marjorie Taylor Greene talks about GOP ‘civil war’ as House speaker fight rages
Ryan King
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Conservative firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) claims she is willing to “lean into” the brewing “civil war” within the GOP as members grovel over the speaker’s gavel.
While maintaining the likely House GOP slugfest is a critical battle to steer the party toward Trump-aligned America First policies, Greene also cautioned against a reactionary push against House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).
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“We’re going to fight it out, and I’m telling you, I’ve always said I’m not afraid of a civil war within the GOP. I lean into it. You want to know why? 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,” she explained on Real America’s Voice.
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McCarthy has taken steps to court Greene’s backing, including inviting her to the rollout of his “Commitment to America” agenda back in September. A member of the House Freedom Caucus known for electrifying the MAGA base, Greene warned that conservatives should tread carefully in the speaker’s melee.
“I actually think that’s a bad strategy when we’re looking at having a very razor-thin majority with potentially 219 [seats]. We’re talking about one vote,” she added while speaking on Steve Bannon’s War Room show, per Axios.
Former House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Biggs (R-AZ) has been speculated to challenge McCarthy for speaker as some House conservatives fume about the failure to postpone the leadership vote slated for Tuesday.
After the party deliberates on its top brass and nominates a candidate for the House’s top job, a full floor vote will take place with the newly elected Congress next year to appoint the next speaker. A candidate needs to cross the 218-vote threshold to ascend to the post. Republicans are projected to win a narrow control of the lower chamber following the midterm election.
Greene contended that conservative hardliners should not devolve into reactionary opposition to McCarthy and reminded them of the so-called Never Trump movement in which centrist members have refused to back former President Donald Trump.
“The danger is this: Do we want to watch a challenge for speaker of the House simply because the ‘Never Kevin’ movement, just like we’ve seen a ‘Never Trump’ movement — do we want to see that challenge open the door to Nancy Pelosi handing the gavel to Liz Cheney?” she added.
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Some Democrats have reportedly signaled openness to striking a deal with McCarthy to get him over the finish line in exchange for concessions. They have also reportedly mused about nominating an alternative, such as outgoing Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), to hold the post.
“We’ve already been through two years where we saw Republicans — Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger — cross over and join the Democrats and produce a Jan. 6 committee,” Greene added.