U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, has started her tenure in Congress with a number of dissenters on the other side of the aisle. Monday night, one of the leading figures in her own party expressed concerns about her, describing some of her comments as “loony lies.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, slammed the newly elected House GOP member in a statement Monday night. The Kentucky Republican referred to Greene’s statements about such tragic mass shootings as those that claimed the lives of children at Sandy Hook Elementary and Parkland High School as staged. McConnell flatly pointed to her sentiments as “loony lies and conspiracy theories” as a “cancer for the Republican Party and our country.”
“Somebody who’s suggested that perhaps no airplane hit the Pentagon on 9/11, that horrifying school shootings were pre-staged, and that the Clintons crashed JFK Jr.’s airplane is not living in reality,” McConnell said in a statement, which did not name Greene specifically. “This has nothing to do with the challenges facing American families or the robust debates on substance that can strengthen our party.”
Later Monday, Greene, who has filed to impeach President Joe Biden, responded in a tweet, stating the “real cancer” for their party was “weak Republicans.”
It is rare for the reserved McConnell to publicly weigh in on political turmoil in the House. His comments suggest concerns about letting the GOP’s most pro-Trump, hardest-right factions gain too much sway in the party.
Greene has been an unyielding supporter of former President Donald Trump. Greene has faced criticism in recent days for her continuing to foster the concept that the presidential election was stolen. She has “liked” social media posts that called for violence against prominent Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
According to a report by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, several Democrats are looking to strip Greene of committee assignments as a way to discipline her for her compromising stances and conspiracy theories. Scores of conservative House Republicans are seeking to oust Liz Cheney, R-Wyoming, from her leadership post after she supported the chamber’s impeachment of Trump.
McConnell’s comments reportedly put pressure on House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-California. McCarthy, according to reports, has vowed to speak with the freshman representative in private about her actions.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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