Inflammatory rhetoric and policy proposals from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) — calling for “a national divorce” between red and blue states, supporting a ban on abortion and labeling Democrats as pedophiles — have helped her informal rise to the top ranks of House Republicans.
Now, Democrats are about to give her a new informal title: the face of the chamber’s GOP.
A study released Thursday shows that Republicans in potentially vulnerable districts vote with Greene an overwhelming amount of the time. The analysis by CAP Action, the political arm of the liberal Center for American Progress think tank, is likely to lead to dozens of television ads over the course of the next year portraying swing-seat Republicans as clones of the extremist lawmaker.
“This analysis underscores that the ideology of House leadership and the average Republican member of Congress has shifted toward Rep. Greene’s extreme MAGA ideas and demonstrates how House Republicans have grown more tolerant of her unacceptable and unethical behavior,” the group said, using an abbreviation for the “Make America Great Again” slogan.
As Donald Trump (with his election-denying stance) leads GOP polls in the party’s presidential primary contest, Democrats are eager to depict Republicans as extreme, a tactic that helped them contain losses in 2022 and almost pull off a midterm upset. Linking them to Greene, who had only a 28% favorability rating in February, could help paint that picture.
Greene, for her part, does not mind the idea of Democrats using her as a political cudgel against fellow Republicans.
“I’m so tired of hearing about the so-called moderates, because I don’t see them. There is no difference if someone says they’re a moderate but they vote with her, they vote with this extremist agenda.”
– Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.)
“Am I worried about how they’re going to use me? Not at all,” she told reporters Wednesday in Washington. “I think they’re aware that I’m a very serious lawmaker and that I’ve been able to make changes in the Republican Party here, especially in our conference.”
Saying that voters support her views in general, she added, “If they want to use my views like that and they want to run against those views, well, good luck to them because they’re going to lose.”
In New York, five Republicans in competitive seats voted with Greene at least 85% of the time, the study found. Among them, the lowest rate came from Rep. Mike Lawler, at 85%, while the highest came from Rep. George Santos — a controversial figure himself after coming under federal indictment — at 93%.
California, where Republicans eked out wins in several hard-fought elections last year, showed a similar pattern. Reps. David Valadao, Michelle Steel and John Duarte voted with Greene 90% of the time, according to the analysis, while Rep. Mike Garcia voted with her 92% of the time.
Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.), who has sponsored a resolution to censure Greene in the House, said the patterns show that Greene’s extremism is no longer restricted to the right wing of the chamber’s already conservative Republicans.
“This is basically what this party is now about, what this [House Republican] conference is about,” Balint said on a video call with reporters that was hosted by CAP Action.
“I’m so tired of hearing about the so-called moderates, because I don’t see them. There is no difference if someone says they’re a moderate but they vote with her, they vote with this extremist agenda.”
The study results may also reflect the past success of Democrats’ work to limit GOP advantages. With only 222 Republicans in a House where 218 seats are needed for control, there has been much less room than usual for the chamber’s majority to allow members to take a walk on key votes. In other words, Republicans have had to vote in almost total lockstep or avoid votes where they could splinter.
According to the study, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) voted with Greene 96% of the time, and 92% of all House Republicans voted with Greene at least 90% of the time. Of those who didn’t, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) had the lowest percentage of voting with Greene, at 70%.
President Joe Biden’s campaign has already dipped its toes into using Greene for an ad, but not in the way one might expect. On social media, it posted footage of Greene, in worried tones, describing what Biden has done, such as boosting programs related to “urban problems,” “rural poverty” and “labor unions,” but with an ironic “I approve this message” slapped above the video.
Greene said her speech had been chopped up to look like praise.
“If they had played the rest of my speech, they wouldn’t have had the campaign ad that they’ve been able to produce,” she said.