The far-right Freedom Caucus, comprised of some of the most extreme Republican members of the House of Representatives, has voted to expel U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) from the group, reportedly over her “disparaging” remarks about a fellow group member, U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO).
“A vote was taken to remove Marjorie Taylor Greene from the House Freedom Caucus for some of the things she’s done,” Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), a Freedom Caucus board member told Politico Thursday.
When asked why the vote to expel Greene was taken, Harris said, “I think the way she referred to a fellow member was probably not the way we expect our members to refer to other fellow, especially female, members.” Politico reports Harris was “appearing to refer to Greene reportedly calling Boebert a ‘little bitch.'”
Greene’s support for Speaker Kevin McCarthy and her stance on the debt ceiling bill were contributing factors for members voting to expel her, but Harris reiterated, “I think the straw that broke the camel’s back was publicly saying things about another member in terms that no one should.”
U.S. Congresman Ritchie Torres (D-NY) reacted to the news, asking, “What does it say about the GOP that MTG is no longer right-wing enough for the right wing of the Republican Party?”
Citing Harris, Peter Baker, the Chief White House Correspondent for The New York Times and an MSNBC analyst tweeted, “Jewish space lasers were evidently okay, but calling Lauren Boebert names was ‘the straw that broke the camel’s back’ and prompted the Freedom Caucus to oust Marjorie Taylor Greene.”
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The Daily Beast’s and MSNBC’s Wajahat Ali mocked Greene, saying: “Imagine being not extreme enough for the Freedom Caucus. This is where the GOP is now. Sorry @mtgreenee…you’re a RINO now.”
Conservative columnist Jonah Goldberg added, “I just think it’s so perfect that Greene is being booted from the Freedom Caucus not for being a clownish conspiratorial nutter, but because she accidentally behaved responsibly and seriously.”
Meanwhile, MSNBC’s Steve Benen observes, “As striking as this behind-the-scenes drama is, there’s a larger context that’s even more consequential for the political world in general: Divisions among congressional Republicans are growing deeper and more common as the year progresses.”
“Perhaps this shouldn’t be too surprising,” he suggests. “After a midterm election cycle in which the GOP fell far short of the party’s own expectations, even while winning back a majority in the House, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy struggled in historic and embarrassing ways to earn his gavel. Six months later: The House Freedom Caucus is divided against itself.”