UPDATED: 11 JUL 2023 08:47 PM EST
Marjorie Taylor Greene still doesn’t know if she was booted from the House Freedom Caucus, more than two weeks after the group took a vote on her membership.
The Georgia Republican told reporters on Tuesday that she didn’t yet know if she was in or out of the pro-Trump group. She still hasn’t spoken to Freedom Caucus Chair Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) about the vote, she added. That vote took place late last month, just hours before the House left for a two-week break.
“No one has told me that. As a matter of fact, all the information I found out was from you guys. … I guess Freedom Caucus does a good job of talking to you more than” its members, Greene told reporters at the Capitol.
Perry declined to specifically address Greene's status in the Freedom Caucus during a Tuesday evening interview, saying he had no plans to meet with her but would if she requested it.
“I’ll just say this: HFC has a set of standards," Perry said. And we're very gracious and we're very forgiving. But we do have an expectation that members … adhere to those standards.”
It’s the latest twist in a very D.C. drama: POLITICO first reported that the group had taken a vote on booting her, though it wasn’t immediately clear if she was officially out. That vote was confirmed last week by Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), a member of the executive board, who told reporters that his understanding was that Greene had been removed from the group. It was the first time the Freedom Caucus has voted to remove a member.
A Freedom Caucus spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. But Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), another Freedom Caucus member, told CNN’s Dana Bash on Tuesday that Greene hadn’t answered calls from Perry over the two-week recess and predicted she would be notified this week that she was removed from the group.
After Harris’ comments, Greene released a statement that didn’t address her Freedom Caucus status. She reiterated on Tuesday that she was “here for my district, not a group in Washington.”
“To tell you the truth I’m not concerned about it. I’m here for Georgia’s 14th district. That is who voted for me. That’s who sent me here. And that is who I work for, and I don’t have time for the drama club,” Greene said.
The Freedom Caucus vote to remove Greene took place less than two days after she got into a verbal floor fight with then-fellow member Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), during which Greene referred to the Colorado Republican as a “little bitch.” After the exchange was first reported, Greene confirmed the fight and doubled down, adding another pejorative.
The two have clashed repeatedly in the past, but Harris indicated that particular spat had factored into the conservative group’s decision to remove Greene.
In addition to battling with Boebert, Greene has also sparked frustration with some in the group by aligning herself closely with Speaker Kevin McCarthy this year, lining up against many Freedom Caucus members when she supported both his rocky speakership bid and his debt deal with President Joe Biden. At the same time, the group is working through a post-Trump crossroads, with some fretting the group is at risk of becoming too friendly with the party establishment.
Harris indicated that both her support for McCarthy and the debt deal fed into the group’s decision, but “I think the straw that broke the camel’s back was publicly saying things about another member in terms that no one should.”
Olivia Beavers contributed to this report.
