A senior Republican National Committee official urged Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene not to take action against President Mike Johnson in a face-to-face meeting on Tuesday, as former President Donald Trump’s top allies seek to avoid what they see as futile and domestic action. disturbing. battle.
The meeting between Greene (R-Ga.) and RNC co-chair Michael Whatley took place just hours later she accused Johnson of striking a “disgusting backroom deal” with Democrats and promised to force a vote to remove him.
Whatley, who has been in office less than two months, summoned Greene to his office after she missed his briefing to House Republicans that morning, where he emphasized the importance of party unity. He said the same thing to Greene.
“He said, first, this is not helpful, and second, we want to expand and increase the majority in the House,” said a person familiar with Whatley’s message to Greene. “He made it clear that any interruption in the conference on these efforts – including the presentation of this [motion to vacate]does not help in defending party unity.”
In another time, a directive from the Republican Party’s top official would certainly not go unnoticed by a House deputy. Even at this time, Whatley’s selection as Trump’s handpicked RNC administrator lent him weight within the MAGA orbit.
But Greene rejected Whatley, arguing that the party had time to recover from a leadership change before the election. And she told him that she had spoken to Trump himself earlier in the day—leaving the impression that the former president had told her the same thing as Whatley.
The truth is that Greene has painted herself into a corner and this morning faces a potential lose-lose situation: back down and appear soft or stand firm and risk a break with Trump.
She will hold a news conference at 9 a.m. on Wednesday with fellow Johnson critic Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), and her Republican colleagues are preparing for her to announce a vote on Johnson’s gavel as early as the afternoon. In that case, expect a quick vote to the table.
His threats have already affected his standing in the House Republican conference, where more and more lawmakers are growing tired of his self-aggrandizing antics, as Jordain Carney and Olivia Beavers write.
Greene’s latest initiative, for example, comes as the Republican Party tries to take advantage of campus unrest to spread messages about anti-Semitism. But, they write, instead of “going on the offensive by attacking Democrats for insufficiently condemning pro-Palestinian campus protests, Republicans are now preparing for Greene to drag them into another infight that most of them would prefer to postpone.” until after election day. ”
The bigger issue is that Greene is defying not only her colleagues in the House, but also Trump and his handpicked congressman, who made yesterday’s unusual personal appeal.
Whatley said in a statement that “nothing is more important than party unity and ensuring we are focused on defeating Joe Biden and the Democrats in November.”
Others in the Trump-aligned orbit are irritated, to say the least, by Greene’s lack of political discipline. Some noted that she had been quiet in recent days until House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other top Democrats went public with their support for Johnson yesterday morning — suggesting that Greene was doped with rope to trigger another internecine fight.
“Fresh bait always finds a fish,” said a senior Republican Party official. “Jeffries throwing that out there is a friend in the water. Everyone knows what he did.
A person close to Greene responded to calls for unity from Whatley and others: “The only person who destroys Republican unity is Mike Johnson,” the person said. “Republicans need a speaker who will deliver on President Trump’s America First agenda when he returns to the White House. Democrat-endorsed Mike Johnson, right?
But another senior GOP official suggested there could be consequences for Greene if she doesn’t start being a team player, and quickly. She may be kicked out of some parts of the MAGA world where she has long been adored.
“If she blows everything up… we won’t include her in anything,” this person said. “She is alone.”
Did you like this content? Sign up for POLITICO’s Playbook newsletter.
This story originally appeared on Politico.com read the full story
