Freedom Caucus can't get Marjorie Taylor Greene to call them back
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has not responded to calls by top members of the House Freedom Caucus aimed at notifying her that she has been ousted from the influential conservative group, two lawmakers familiar with the situation told Axios.
Zoom in: One HFC board member said that Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry (R-Pa.) unsuccessfully tried to reach out to the Georgia Republican both before and after a vote was held to remove her to discuss her colleagues' grievances with her behavior.
- Another senior source with knowledge confirmed that Greene was out of the group “pending a conversation with her.”
- “She was unresponsive and resisted and refused efforts to meet with or talk with Chairman Perry, and so the vote was held without that conversation being held,” the HFC board member said.
- “It's my understanding that after the vote took place by the general membership, that she also refused to meet with or talk with Chairman Perry — I suspect it was somewhat like someone refusing to be served legal documents.”
The lawmaker added that there was an “overwhelming vote” by both the board and the general membership to kick her out, marking the first time the HFC has removed a member since it was first established in 2015.
What they’re saying: Despite the failed attempts to reach her during the House’s July 4 recess, the senior HFC member asserted that she will no longer be able to partake in meetings.
- “This was a notification, not a negotiation,” the board member added.
- “The 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.) told reporters on Thursday. “But other than that, they're no other no large divisions.”
- Greene’s office did not immediately respond to request for comment, but released a statement on Thursday stating that she serves “Northwest Georgia first, and serve no group in Washington.”
The big picture: Greene is the first member to be removed from the group, with her conservative colleagues voicing frustrations with the Georgia Republican.
- In a recent confrontation, Greene called Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) a “little b****” on the House floor.
- The HFC board member said that many in the group felt that Greene's decisions to back leadership on issues ranging from the debt ceiling to supporting Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) during his battle for the gavel was seen as problematic by many in the group.
- “She was unique among the Freedom Caucus members in her attack on other members of the Freedom Caucus during the speaker battle, who shared a different view than hers with respect to now Speaker McCarthy," they said.
Between the lines: The lawmaker added that "over the last six months, she rarely comes to meetings. She's rarely participated in other activities and the Freedom Caucus has conducted and she was on a different side in the major legislative battle of this congressional term so far in the debt ceiling bill.”
- Greene's office did not reply to Axios requests for comment.
