Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Thursday dubbed the House Freedom Caucus the “burn-it-all-down caucus,” a swipe at the conservative group that ousted her from its ranks over the summer.
“I’m not a member of the burn-it-all-down caucus anymore,” Greene told reporters. “I’m a greatly, very happily a free agent and I want to do my job here.”
Members of the caucus voted to boot Greene from their ranks over the summer after the Georgia Republican supported the debt limit bill that Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and President Biden crafted to avoid a default, which drew ire from many in the right flank — some of whom are members of the caucus.
Her ouster also came after she clashed with Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), a member of the caucus. Greene called Boebert a “little b—-” after the Colorado Republican unexpectedly forced a vote on her articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Greene criticized Boebert for not explaining her decision to the House GOP conference, and she said her Colorado colleague copied her articles of impeachment targeting Mayorkas.
Greene’s removal from the conservative group marked a significant moment in her evolution on Capitol Hill. The Georgia Republican came to Congress in 2021 as a rabble rouser, quickly becoming a conservative thorn in the side of GOP leadership.
But last year she emerged as a close ally of McCarthy, supporting his bid for the Speakership and urging against any internal challenge — a stark difference from many of her colleagues in the Freedom Caucus, whose demands of McCarthy and support for other members led to the historic 15-ballot election.
Greene’s swipe at the Freedom Caucus came one day after a coalition of conservatives — some of whom are members of the conservative group — said they would withhold support from a procedural vote on legislation to fund the Pentagon over demands on spending, which led GOP leadership in the House to punt the vote.
Greene on Thursday suggested in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that she would not support the spending bill because it includes funding for Ukraine, which she opposes. But the congresswoman nonetheless expresses frustration with her conservative colleagues following a closed-door GOP conference meeting.
“A lot of my colleagues that are saying those things weren’t even in that room, so they weren’t there to hear any of the conversation nor raise their concerns,” Greene said after emerging from the meeting. “They can’t stand out and hold press conferences but not attend our conference meetings and expect to work things out.”
Asked if she is frustrated with their participation on the appropriations process, Greene said she was no longer a member of the “burn-it-all-down” caucus.
In July, after news broke of Greene’s ouster from the Freedom Caucus, the congresswoman called the group “the drama club.”
“I’m not really concerned about it,” Greene said of the news.
“I don’t have time for the drama club,” she added at the time.