Marjorie Taylor Greene Enters Exile From Powerful Freedom Caucus

WASHINGTON—The breakup of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and the most powerful conservative caucus in the House was likely sealed when she called her colleague Rep. Lauren Boebert “a little bitch.”

Greene had made her name as a firebrand hard-right Georgia congresswoman and fit well into the House Freedom Caucus ideologically. But ever since she played a role in helping Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) overcome 14 failed votes to become speaker, she and caucus colleagues clashed over whether to continue to make life difficult for McCarthy, as Boebert and some others have done, or assist leadership in passing legislation, Greene’s preferred tack.

These tensions are moving to center stage again as the House takes up the annual defense-policy bill, which has passed Congress on a bipartisan basis for decades. Greene and other conservatives have worked to shape the $886 billion National Defense Authorization Act by pushing to add provisions that would strip out Ukraine aid or restrict abortion access.

“I think I enjoy being a free agent a lot better,” said Greene about her ouster from the caucus. She said that she shared the values of the Freedom Caucus, but was “interested in getting accomplishments done, not doing things just to disrupt and fight leadership. And that’s a major difference.”

Passage of the NDAA, as well as the coming farm bill and the annual spending bills, are key markers of Republicans’ ability to govern after McCarthy’s tumultuous start. The Freedom Caucus, formed eight years ago with the idea that the party needed to fight harder for its conservative principles, can act as a veto on legislation proceeding, if enough members stick together. In one warning shot, Freedom Caucus members recently helped bring the floor to a halt for a week as a protest of McCarthy’s bipartisan deal with Democrats to avoid a debt-ceiling default, which they said didn’t cut spending sufficiently.

Freedom Caucus members say that they aren’t concerned that the effort to push out Greene has weakened their power. “I’m not worried about any fraying,” said Rep. Chip Roy (R., Texas), a leader within the group.

Greene’s dramatic ouster came after some members concluded that instead of fighting establishment Republicans in a bid to enact more conservative policies, Greene was training her firepower on rank-and-file Republicans, including fellow caucus members.

In the incident with Boebert last month, Greene accused the Colorado Republican of copying her own measure to impeach President Biden. Boebert had structured her resolution in a way that could have forced an immediate House vote, putting her in the limelight and forcing a scramble by McCarthy to sideline the measure.

“Petty,” said Freedom Caucus member Rep. Andy Biggs (R., Ariz.) last month when asked whether it was appropriate to confront another member for introducing legislation similar to one’s own.

Boebert declined to comment this week on the controversy. Previously, she told CNN, “I’m not in middle school,” when asked about the incident.

Greene and Boebert both used social media to rise to star status in the pro- Donald Trump wing of the party, and have a longstanding rivalry. They have sought to occupy a similar provocateur lane in Congress, including heckling Biden at his State of the Union address earlier this year. Before being elected, Boebert encouraged servers and patrons to openly carry firearms at her Shooters Grill restaurant.

Some Freedom Caucus members described Greene’s remarks to Boebert as the last straw, pointing to her past criticisms of other Republicans like Rep. Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.), who had voted against elevating McCarthy as House speaker, or Ken Buck (R., Colo.), who is at odds with Greene over her desire to cut funding for the Justice Department. Others wrestled with the vote to ouster her, which was held behind closed doors and without all members present, with some members saying that Greene was a friend.

As of Wednesday, House Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry

In remarks to reporters this week, McCarthy offered a full-throated defense of Greene, who has moved from the periphery of the party and a regular management headache for the leader to become one of his closest political allies. 

“Marjorie Taylor Greene is one of the best members we have,” McCarthy said on Tuesday. “I don’t know why they would do something like that from any perspective,” he said about removing her from the House Freedom Caucus.

Greene praised the House speaker in return, telling reporters that “he’s doing a wonderful job.” 

When the Republicans took power after winning the House in the midterm elections, McCarthy restored Greene to her committee assignments. She had been kicked off the panels by Democrats in the previous Congress over her past embrace of QAnon conspiracy theories. She has been one of the most controversial members of the House, in part because of her heated rhetoric. She told her followers ahead of the 2020 election that “the only way you get your freedoms back is it’s earned with the price of blood.”

McCarthy on Wednesday hosted a fundraiser for Greene. She raised $12.6 million in the last election cycle, making her the 10th best fundraiser in the House, and this year has raised about $600,000 as of the end of the first quarter, according to Federal Election Commission data.

On the House floor Wednesday, a member of the House Republican whip team could be seen talking to Greene, who has stopped sitting in the section of the House floor populated by Freedom Caucus conservatives. Greene said that she had been discussing her goal of stripping $300 million in funding authorized for Ukraine from the NDAA, the defense-authorization bill that is an annual must-pass measure.

The Rules Committee agreed to include her amendment to strike Ukraine funding in a package of amendments expected to come to the floor Thursday. She also will get votes on several other amendments she offered, including one that would bar the sale or transfer of cluster munitions or cluster munitions technology to Ukraine.

Other Freedom Caucus members are getting amendment votes on restricting abortion access in the military and banning transgender healthcare for troops.

—Lindsay Wise contributed to this article.

Write to Siobhan Hughes at [email protected] and Simon J. Levien at [email protected]