Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) slammed fellow Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) after she sent a letter to colleagues about her grievances with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
Lawler joined CNN’s Jake Tapper on Tuesday to discuss the letter, which he called “a bunch of hogwash.”
“I mean, at the end of the day here, the American people elected a House Republican majority to govern, to serve as a check and balance on the Biden administration, not to fight amongst ourselves,” Lawler said.
Earlier Tuesday, Green sent a five-page letter to GOP members laying out a list of issues she has against Johnson. She’s threatened to force a vote to remove Johnson from his leadership position, just months after the House ousted former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in a historic vote that left the lower chamber in chaos without leadership for weeks.
Greene criticized Johnson for “serving the Democrats” and hit him on his handling of government funding, including aid for Ukraine in its war with Russia. She argued that Johnson is not properly serving the Republican Party and said she “will not tolerate” this kind of leadership.
Lawler said it’s “mind-boggling” that after eight far-right members “teamed up with 208 Democrats” to remove McCarthy “and throw our majority into disarray” Greene is threatening a motion to vacate, causing the party to stare down a similar situation.
“To say that Mike Johnson is not a conservative,” Lawler said of Greene’s letter, “I would hate to know what she thinks of me then.”
“Because, you know, obviously, I’m representing a district that Joe Biden won by 10 points, right, that’s home to Bill and Hillary Clinton and George Soros,” he continued. “Mike Johnson is in one of the most conservative districts in the country.”
Lawler pointed to several issues, including immigration and the southern border, the affordability crisis, and the Israel-Hamas border, where Republicans are disagreeing most with Democrats.
“Meanwhile, you know, we have Marjorie Taylor Greene now trying to make this all about a motion to vacate,” he said. “We have to work together, we have to get the agenda the American people [want] passed, and that includes supporting our allies.”