Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who earlier this year spoke at a white nationalist event, said she expects to gain “a lot of power” if the midterm elections give Republicans control of the House.
During an interview with The New York Times, the lawmaker and conspiracy theorist appeared to put House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), on notice. He is expected to become speaker if the GOP takes control after the midterms.
“I think that to be the best speaker of the House and to please the base, he’s going to give me a lot of power and a lot of leeway,” she was quoted as saying “in a flat, unemotional voice.”
Then, Greene issued what she insisted wasn’t a threat.
“And if he doesn’t, they’re going to be very unhappy about it,” she said. “I think that’s the best way to read that. And that’s not in any way a threat at all. I just think that’s reality.”
The Times noted that McCarthy had “assiduously courted her support” and cited an unnamed source as saying he was “offering to create a new leadership position” just for Greene.
A spokesperson for McCarthy denied that such an offer had been made, the Times reported.
“I don’t have to have a leadership position,” Greene told the newspaper. “I think I already have one, without having one.”
Read her full interview with the Times here.
Greene has a long history of spouting wild conspiracy theories, including support for claims that school shootings were staged “false flag” operations. She has also “liked” Facebook posts calling for the execution of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), and theorized that a giant space laser was behind 2018’s deadly wildfires in California. That laser, she indicated, was controlled by the Rothschilds, a Jewish banking family at the heart of antisemitic conspiracy theories.
