Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) is no fan of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), the far-right firebrand whose latest outrage is at House Speaker Mike Johnson for helping to shepherd military aid for Ukraine through the House.
He told CNN Tuesday that she is “a total waste of time” and is “dragging our brand down.”
“I think she is uninformed, she is a total waste of time, and I’m embarrassed to have actually lived geographically in her district at one time before she was there,” Tillis told CNN reporter Lauren Fox.
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“She is a horrible leader,” Tillis went on. “She is dragging our brand down. She—not the Democrats—[is] the biggest risk to us getting back to a majority.”
His remarks were also played back on Erin Burnett Out Front later that night.
Last month, Greene introduced a motion to force a vote on Johnson’s removal. Just two other Republicans in Congress have since signaled their support. The move attracted the criticism of at least one other member of Congress: Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), who called Greene an attention-seeker.
Meanwhile, Greene’s indignance at legislation helping Ukraine fend off Russian attacks has been applauded by Kremlin-backed media. Greene joins former Fox News host Tucker Carlson as the American political figures embraced by Russian propagandists, with Tillis having also spoken out against Carlson on the subject a few months ago.
On CNN, other Republican senators were shown criticizing those in their party like Greene who want to oust Johnson.
“There are some folks who try to get themselves as many tweets, as many followers, as they can—a lot of sound and fury signifying nothing,” Utah Sen. Mitt Romney said.
North Dakota Sen. Kevin Kramer added that if Johnson “is not good enough, no one’s going to be good enough.”
Johnson’s future largely depends on what Democrats in the House decide to do, given the Republicans’ razor-thin majority. Some have stated they don’t feel the need to see him replaced.
