WASHINGTON — Returning from a two-week hiatus, members of the House Freedom Caucus declined Tuesday to say whether they had expelled Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from the hardline conservative group.
“I’m not talking about that,” said Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry, Republican of Pennsylvania.
“I’m not talking about Freedom Caucus membership,” added a Greene rival, Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Colo Republican.
“I’m just not going to comment on that with all the problems the world was having,” chimed in Rep. Ralph Norman, RS.C.
After two weeks of confusion over whether Greene, a Georgia Republican and top ally of former President Donald Trump, was still an active member of the group, Freedom Caucus members declined to provide clarity Tuesday, calling the matter an internal issue. .
“It’s none of his business; it’s our business,” said Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., another Freedom Caucus member who told reporters last week that the group had voted to remove Greene.
“Those are private matters and concerns,” added Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas.
Previously, members of the Freedom Caucus had said they took an “overwhelming” vote to expel Greene from the group on June 23, the day lawmakers went into recess on July 4, for his strong support of Chairman Kevin McCarthy. , Republican of California, and for calling Boebert a “little b—-” on the House floor.
But Republican sources said Greene had not heard directly from Perry or anyone else in the Freedom Caucus that she had been ousted. Some senior members of the Freedom Caucus argued that Perry had tried to reach Greene via email, text and phone, but that she rebuffed her efforts.
Greene appeared to confirm that account Tuesday, saying she was not interested in speaking to Perry on the phone, “only in person.” But as of Tuesday night, the couple still hadn’t connected.
He also complained that his Freedom Caucus colleagues did not personally inform him of their action on the morning of June 23, when lawmakers were still in session.
When asked if she still considers herself a member of the Freedom Caucus, Greene replied, “I consider myself the representative of Georgia’s 14th district.”
Norman added to the confusion by saying that it was Greene’s decision to leave the group, something Greene has not confirmed.
“She left the Freedom Caucus. Her views weren’t the same, which is okay,” Norman said. “She’s a good friend, we just don’t see eye to eye.”
Greene, who goes by her initials MTG, arrived in Washington in January 2021 as a conservative bombshell and a thorn in the side of the Republican leadership. But a year later, she and McCarthy formed an unlikely partnership. Greene became one of McCarthy’s fiercest defenders in his bid for speaker, defending his deal with President Joe Biden to raise the debt ceiling amid conservative attacks.
On Tuesday, McCarthy called Greene “one of the hardest-working members” of Congress and put her in the speaker’s chair to preside over the House floor.
“I don’t know why they would do something like that,” McCarthy said of the Freedom Caucus. “But I’ll tell you this: Marjorie Taylor Greene is a very good member, she works hard, she represents her district.”
Some members of the Freedom Caucus said they had no word two weeks ago that there was an effort to oust Greene from the group and did not attend the 8 am meeting where the vote took place.
“I wasn’t involved in it, I didn’t go to the vote, I didn’t even know it was going on,” Rep. Debbie Lesko, an Arizona Republican, said in an interview.
sahil kapur and kate santaliz contributed.
