Marjorie Taylor Greene really is trying to be a different person.
She’s closely aligned herself with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). She’s extricated herself from the so-called “sinners’ row”—the middle section of the House chamber where GOP castaways like her old friends Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO) sit. And she’s committed herself to her newfound committee work, after McCarthy placed her on the Homeland Security Panel and the Oversight Committee.
And yet, as much as Greene fights it, she can’t help but create controversy. She can’t help but fall back into her old habits of divisive stunts and raucous rhetoric.
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The new Marjorie Taylor Greene is looking a lot like the old Marjorie Taylor Greene—just with new friends, new responsibilities, and new power.
On Tuesday, during President Joe Biden’s State of the Union, Greene repeatedly interrupted the president, calling him a “Liar!” and shouting her thoughts—“China’s spying on us!” “Secure the border!”—in an otherwise quiet but packed House chamber.
She followed up that performance the next day by using her time during an Oversight Committee hearing to question former Twitter executives about her personal suspensions from the platform and rant about shadowbanning. She was so upset with Twitter’s former head of safety that she didn’t let the witness, Yoel Roth, even respond to her assertions—a curious move for a congressional hearing where the supposed purpose is to get answers.
And as much as Republicans are trying not to cross Greene, the frustration is palpable for someone who has become—much to the delight of Democrats—a standard-bearer of the GOP.
“I don’t think someone who looks and acts like a cartoon supervillain heckling the president on national television is the best representative of the Republican Party,” said one senior GOP aide, referring to Greene’s performance during the State of the Union.
While plenty of Republicans joined in on the heckling, plenty of other Republicans in the chamber Tuesday looked annoyed. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) almost appeared physically ill, placing his hand over his face at certain points during Greene’s outbursts in a seeming mix of disgust and exasperation.
But as bad of a look as Greene’s jeering was, Republicans were hesitant to call it out.
McCarthy, true to form, defended Greene and the GOP’s behavior on Fox News. “Well, the president was trying to goad the members, and the members are passionate about it,” he said.
Greene, meanwhile, told The New York Times she wasn’t worried about being reprimanded whatsoever. “Not one single bit,” she said. “I have the speaker’s support, and he has mine.”
Still, if you looked carefully, there were some Republicans who were less than enthused about Greene shouting out her thoughts at the president during a State of the Union.
“That needs to be called out,” said Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA). “And just it's kind of like how it looks in the British Parliament, you know. They're pretty active there. But we shouldn't be doing name-calling and stuff.”
Even Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), hardly one to criticize conservatives for their antics, expressed some reservations about House Republicans heckling the president. He said the “outbursts” weren’t helpful. “But, you know, sadly, I think it’s a trend.”
It certainly is a trend—one that Greene has accelerated since coming to the House.
Back in 2009, when Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) issued a very similar remark—shouting “You lie!” at former President Barack Obama during his State of the Union speech—GOP leaders pressured Wilson to apologize. And even after he did, the House still passed a resolution condemning Wilson. Seven Republicans even voted for it.
But now, shouting, interruptions, and booing are the norm. And even the most moderate Republicans are hesitant to single out Greene for behavior that’s become commonplace.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), perhaps the most diametrically opposed Republican to Greene’s policy preferences and far-right rhetoric, simply wouldn’t criticize her when given the chance.
“She got her committees that she asked for. She didn't make any demands during the course of the speaker vote. People did, she didn’t. Hope she does a good job,” Fitzpatrick said.
Some onlookers outside the Capitol weren’t so generous.
Many Twitter posts made comparisons of Greene, who was wearing a white fur-trim coat, to Cruella de Vil, the villain from Disney’s The Hundred and One Dalmatians, with memes suggesting she was actually shouting demands for puppies to skin.
But just like Greene, House Republicans appear to be trying to play nice, recognizing Greene’s attempts to be more serious—perhaps with eyes on becoming Donald Trump’s vice-presidential nominee.
Case in point was a chummy awards dinner for the press on Wednesday night. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), who’s taken shots at Greene in the past, was the Republican featured speaker at the Washington Press Club Foundation’s annual dinner.
At the dinner, Mace hardly spared anyone from her relentless roast. And she did take at least one shot at Greene—while acknowledging her change of tone.
“Recently, there’s been a lot of talk about antisemitism,” Mace said. “But since Marjorie Taylor Greene started behaving, the rate of Jewish space laser attacks is now zero.”
That’s hardly the lashing Mace could have delivered. And what’s potentially more interesting than what Mace said is what she didn’t say.
Politico got a hold of Mace’s planned remarks and found another joke about Greene was originally included: “C’mon [Rep. George Santos], you give Republicans a bad name. And that’s Marjorie’s job,” it read, referring to the scandalous Republican congressman from New York.
But it appears Mace crossed out Greene’s name—and replaced it with Boebert’s instead.
A select group of members of Congress are invited to the dinner as reporters’ guests. It’s often a who’s-who of political brass, combined with an array of agreeable rank-and-file members the press are hoping to schmooze. It’s not often you see especially controversial members in attendance.
As Mace delivered that joke, Greene was in the crowd.
