WASHINGTON — A member of the House Freedom Caucus confirmed Wednesday that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., has been removed from the conservative caucus, citing her repeated “attacks” on GOP colleagues.
“He’s not a member of the Freedom Caucus, and he shouldn’t be in the future,” Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., said in an appearance on NBC News’ “Meet the Press NOW” in some of the final comments yet about Greene’s status in the group.
Greene, a fundraising powerhouse with a huge social media following, has been one of former President Donald Trump’s top advocates on Capitol Hill. She is the first congresswoman to be kicked out of the Freedom Caucus since it was started in 2015 by then-Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. Mark Meadows, RN.C., and Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., and others.
Others in the ultraconservative group had said a June 23 vote was taken to oust Greene over his altercation with Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colon, and his vocal support of Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s ultimate bid as speaker and his trillion dollars. agreement on the debt ceiling with President Joe Biden.
But for the past two weeks, there has been confusion about his status after Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry, R-Pa., declined to comment on the matter and Greene insisted no one had informed him that had been voted Some members of the Freedom Caucus suggested that Greene has been avoiding Perry’s attempts to reach him to break the news.
As of Wednesday, Perry and Greene had yet to speak in person on the issue, although they would have been together in the House during the votes.
“No, I haven’t talked to him about any of that,” Greene said. “I’m mostly focused on the job I’m doing and serving my district, I’m not interested in any drama.”
A spokesman for Greene had no immediate comment on Buck’s comments. Greene did not attend a Freedom Caucus meeting Tuesday night after lawmakers returned to Washington from the Fourth of July recess.
Buck, who is one of the more soft-spoken members of the often rambunctious Freedom Caucus, said Greene’s ouster was not about his political views but his repeated attacks on other members of the group, including his criticism of his colleagues to block McCarthy, R-. Calif., of winning the speaker’s gavel in January.
“She has consistently attacked other members of the Freedom Caucus in an irresponsible way, and as a result of that she was kicked out of the Freedom Caucus,” Buck said, “and she shouldn’t be, she shouldn’t be member
“We have diverse opinions in the Freedom Caucus. It is not monolithic, but to the extent that it attacks other members, it simply should not be tolerated over and over again,” he continued. “It’s not a simple attack. It’s not what happened on the floor a few weeks ago with Lauren Boebert. It’s a series of very poorly thought out attacks against other members.”
