4 HOURS AGO
Marjorie Taylor Greene is no longer a member of the Freedom Caucus
after a vote last month, according to one member of the conservative group’s board.
Andy Harris called the vote — the first time HFC has formally booted a member — an “appropriate action.”
What’s happening? A member of the House Freedom Caucus on Thursday confirmed that the conservative group has voted to boot Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) — a vote first reported by POLITICO last week.
“A vote was taken to remove Marjorie Taylor Greene from the House Freedom Caucus for some of the things she's done,” said Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.).
Details: The Maryland Republican declined to say how he voted, but called the decision to remove her “an appropriate action.” Pressed if that meant Greene is formally out, Harris, who noted he is on the group’s board, added: “As far as I know, that is the way it is.”
A spokesperson for Greene did not respond to a request for comment on her status within the Freedom Caucus. A spokesperson for the group also didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Why was Greene removed? Though tensions were already brewing within the Freedom Caucus, the formal vote came shortly after Greene and fellow caucus member Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) got into a heated clash on the House floor — details of which were quickly leaked to reporters.
“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,” Harris said on Thursday, appearing to refer to Greene reportedly calling Boebert a “little bitch.”
Asked if Greene breaking from the group on the debt bill or her support for McCarthy were factors, Harris said, “I think all of that mattered.”
“I think the straw that broke the camel's back was publicly saying things about another member in terms that no one should,” he said.
What does it mean? Greene has typically attended the group’s weekly off-campus strategy sessions, but Harris noted Thursday that only members can attend the meetings, meaning she would no longer be able to attend.
It is the first time the group has formally booted a member from its ranks. Then-Rep. Justin Amash previously quit the group. Harris noted that there was “one other member a couple of years ago, who we probably would have asked to leave, but we just decided not to.”
Members of the Freedom Caucus have been the driving force behind challenges to Speaker Kevin McCarthy as he tried to win the gavel and during a recent debt fight. Though those strategies didn’t completely unify the group, Harris said Thursday that after the Greene vote there were no other remaining “large divisions.”
“This wasn’t even a speed bump,” Harris added.
https://www.politico.com/minutes/congress/07-6-2023/mtg-freedom-caucus-ouster/