- House Republican leaders were worried about Marjorie Taylor Greene back in the summer, Axios reported.
- GOP members had discussions about how best to deal with the conspiracy theorist.
- Greene faces a new wave of condemnation for past social media posts.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Before she was even elected to Congress, Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was giving House Republican leaders reason to worry, according to Axios.
In past days, Greene has faced a wave of condemnation for past social media posts in which she spread radical conspiracy theories and endorsed executing Democratic leaders.
Her comments prompted House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to acknowledge the “disturbing” comments and say he would have a conversation with the freshman lawmaker.
But Republicans were having conversations about Greene’s potentially damaging impacts on the party months ago.
In meetings last summer, GOP members discussed their fears that Greene would be bad for the party, before eventually setting them aside, Axios reported.
Former North Carolina Rep. Mark Walker was particularly vocal, calling Greene “crazy,” and House GOP whip Steve Scalise and Rep. Liz Cheney also spoke up, according to Axios. The three reportedly plotted how best to deal with the candidate in House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s office during leadership meetings. Insider reached out to McCarthy and Greene for comment.
McCarthy and Scalise both released statements condemning Greene and both endorsed and fundraised for her primary opponent, John Cowan, but she eventually beat him by more than 10,000 votes.
McCarthy didn’t do much more once it became obvious Greene would be coming to Washington. He even told Politico in August that he was looking forward to her joining the caucus.
Scalise told Insider in September that he thought she had “moved away” from her QAnon roots.
Cowan told Axios he had conversations with McCarthy and Scalise in which both agreed Greene was problematic for the party.
“I said she has real problems and does not represent, at least what I think of as, someone who would be allowed even in a big-tented party. I mean, at some point, you have to say, ‘No shoes, no shirt, no service,'” Cowan told Axios.
Greene poses a problem for McCarthy, who must now decide if he will continue his policy of punishing members who make dangerous comments. In 2019, Iowa Rep. Steve King was stripped from his committee assignments after he publicly questioned why terms like “white nationalism” and “white supremacy” had become offensive.
Cowan said everyone was aware of Greene’s persona and who she was.
“I would say they all knew she was going to be a problem,” Cowan told Axios. “Maybe they just assumed that the awe of winning an election would calm her down a little bit, and so she would actually be interested in governing and be interested in policy, and she’s just clearly not. She is literally there for a stage production.”
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