Posted on 05/01/2024 9:54:27 AM PDT by RandFan
MICHAEL WHATLEY, the newly installed RNC co-chair, had already briefed Greene’s fellow House Republicans on the importance of party unity that morning, but Greene didn’t show. He delivered his pointed message to her personally: Don’t move against Johnson.
“He said, one, this is not helpful, and two, we want to expand and grow the majority in the House,” said a person familiar with Whatley’s message to Greene. “He was clear that any disruption to the conference on these efforts — including filing this [motion to vacate], does not help the case for party unity.”
In another era, a directive from the top Republican party official certainly would not go unheeded by a House back-bencher. Even in this era, you would think Whatley’s status as DONALD TRUMP’s handpicked RNC steward would mean something to a MAGA acolyte.
But Greene disagreed with Whatley, arguing that the party had time to rebound from a leadership switch before the election. And she admitted she’d spoken to Trump himself earlier in the day — leaving the impression that the former president had told her much the same as Whatley had.
The truth was, Greene had backed herself into a corner, and this morning, she’s facing a potential lose-lose situation: back down and look squishy or stand firm and risk a break with Trump.
At 9 a.m. she’s holding a news conference with fellow Johnson critic THOMAS MASSIE (R-Ky.), and her fellow Republicans are bracing for her to announce a vote on Johnson’s gavel as soon as this afternoon. If so, expect a quick vote to table.
Already her threats have taken a toll on her standing within the House Republican conference, where more and more lawmakers are growing tired of her self-aggrandizing antics, as our colleagues Jordain Carney and Olivia Beavers write.
They note, for instance, that Greene’s latest push comes as the GOP tries to take advantage of the campus unrest to make a messaging push on antisemitism. But, they write, instead of “going on the offense by attacking Democrats for insufficiently condemning pro-Palestinian protests on campuses, Republicans are now bracing for Greene to drag them into another internal fight that most of them would rather delay until after Election Day.”
The bigger issue is that Greene is defying not just her House colleagues, but also Trump and his hand-picked deputy, who made yesterday’s unusual face-to-face appeal.
Whatley told Playbook in a statement that “nothing is more important than party unity and ensuring that we are focused on beating JOE BIDEN and Democrats in November.”
Others in the Trump-aligned orbit are annoyed, to put it mildly, at Greene’s lack of political discipline. Some noted that she’d kept quiet in recent days until House Minority Leader HAKEEM JEFFRIES and other top Democrats made their backing of Johnson public yesterday morning — suggesting Greene got rope-a-doped into sparking another internecine fight.
“Fresh bait always finds a fish,” one senior GOP official told Playbook. “Jeffries throwing that out there, it’s chum in the water. Everyone knows what he did.”
Nancy Pelosi was.
Pelosi had the votes.
“She’s an idiot.”
The exact same word Fox News called her. So you’re in good company. 🙄
This Whatley guy is bad news. Hand picked by Trump, as was Thirty-Pence.
Johnson might not be Democrat but he’s their new best friend. The gall of that man spewing the lie that he has a “Christian world view”.
We’re totally f**ked.
“If Hakeen (sic) Jeffries becomes speaker and Donald Trump wins re-election, would his election be certified?”
IIRC, they’ve clearly stated, often, that in that case PDJT will not be certified. Considering the feckless character of many of the GOP, it is possible Trump wouldn’t be certified even if w we had the majority and Johnson were still Speaker.
“Jeffries is practically already speaker”
Exactly right.
I don’t see how this country survives with Johnson having sold us out so often over the last few months, and with him welcoming Jeffries as co-speaker. Him and his blasphemous “Christian work view”.
Too bad it’s not possible to see the details of all Congressmen’s offshore accounts.
“And besides the Supreme Court would never allow them to do this.”
Why do you say that? Don’t you recall how SCOTUS acted (actually refused to ACT) after the 2020 election? They’re fine with taking down, and taking out, Trump. If they had become involved in the case presented by TX, et al., we’d probably be in a better place now.
The Supreme Court WOULD allow them to do this.
“MTG is the only one standing for principle here, not politics”
True. What has happened to our country? What has happened to FReepers? No principles.
Did you post enough times now, in support of the ridiculous premise that two or three House members should jeopardize the majority?
Why, yes. Yes; I did.
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