McConnell went on the attack last night-- against Georgia QAnon congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. That should make for an awkward meeting later this week when McCarthy has his much ballyhooed "talk" with her. Especially since Greene, tweeted back, essentially claiming McConnell and the GOP establishment are the real cancer:
The Hill wrote up the spat:
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Monday blasted Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s embrace of “loony lies and conspiracy theories” as a “cancer for the Republican Party.”
“Somebody who’s suggested that perhaps no airplane hit the Pentagon on 9/11, that horrifying school shootings were pre-staged, and that the Clintons crashed JFK Jr.’s airplane is not living in reality,” McConnell said in a statement first shared with The Hill. “This has nothing to do with the challenges facing American families or the robust debates on substance that can strengthen our party.”
McConnell didn't mention Greene by name in his three-sentence statement, but his rare, scathing remarks about a freshman GOP lawmaker from the other chamber suggests he recognizes the potential damage her violent rhetoric and bizarre conspiracy theories could inflict on congressional Republicans as they try to take back both the House and Senate in next year’s midterms.
...Democrats are threatening to force a floor vote this week to oust the controversial Georgia Republican from the Education and Labor Committee and the Budget Committee if House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) does not remove her first.
McCarthy is set to meet with her in Washington as early as Tuesday. Some Republicans said they did not anticipate McCarthy booting her off the committees given that she has the backing of former President Trump, who still holds enormous sway within the GOP.
But McConnell’s comments will up the pressure on McCarthy to act.
If McCarthy punts the issue to Democrats, it could force vulnerable House Republicans in swing districts to take a difficult vote.
“Of course she should be removed. While we can’t prevent her from calling herself a Republican, we can take a stand, and need to,” moderate GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger (IL) told The Hill on Monday evening.
Kinzinger is extremely conservative, not a moderate, unless there's a new definition that has to do with not being an admirer of fascists.
But others fear removing her will further divide the conference, which is already embroiled in a civil war on where to turn next in a post-Trump era.
"It remains to be seen how big of an issue she is long-term. She's had a noisy entrance, but it's unclear what she will be viewed as and whether she will even be known in the public psyche in November 2022. She's had a tough transition to Congress. I'm not sure we need to go to the wall on this right now,” one senior GOP lawmaker said.
“To quote Dean Wormer, we may have to put her on Double Secret Probation. ... She's been a member for 30 days. It's still a little early, and I don't blame Kevin for not clamping down on somebody at this point. I don't think you need to strip someone of their committees this early," the lawmaker added.
Greene’s mounting controversies have created headaches for top Republicans as Democrats look to brand her as the face of the GOP.
...Trump’s support of the firebrand freshman is not making GOP woes any easier.
Greene tried diverting attention from herself by attacking AOC but that flopped when her sad tweet challenging AOC's intelligence included a mis-spelling. Greene then tweeted an impotent threat to get revenge if Democrats remove her from her committees. "If Democrats remove me from my committees, I can assure them that the precedent they are setting will be used extensively against members on their side once we regain the majority after the 2022 elections."
