July 07, 2023 11:57 AM UTC

Sorry Freedom Caucus, MTG's Got Cooler Friends Now

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• by: Colorado Pols

Politico’s Jordain Carney confirms a rumor that circulated over the July 4th holiday break–Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, one half of the congressional “Q-some Twosome” along with Colorado’s Rep. Lauren Boebert until their friendship infamously fell apart, has been formally ousted from the House Freedom Caucus:

The House Freedom Caucus voted to remove Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from the pro-Trump group last month, a member confirmed Thursday, indicating that her fight with Rep. Lauren Boebert was part of the group’s reasoning…

It’s the first public confirmation of Greene’s fate within the conservative group. The vote was first reported by POLITICO, though it was unclear at the time whether she had been ejected. It took place less than two days after Greene got into a verbal floor fight with Freedom Caucus member Boebert, 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 [Rep. Andy] Harris indicated that particular spat had factored into the conservative group’s thinking.

Offending the Freedom Caucus’ virgin ears by MTG calling Boebert “little bitch” on the House floor appears to be the pretext for voting to remove her from the club, but the truth is that MTG had been drifting away from her far-right former friends and into the arms of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for months, coming to a head in January after MTG steadfastly backed McCarthy while Boebert and the Freedom Caucus bedeviled McCarthy’s bid for Speaker. In return, MTG was restored to committee assignments she had been stripped of when Democrats controlled the House, and helped bulldog the debt-ceiling compromise brokered by McCarthy through the House with bipartisan support.

If this seems like a huge turnabout for a former Jewish space laser conspiracy theorist, that’s because it is. MTG made a political judgment that “going establishment” would be better for her career, and even after being kicked out of the Freedom Caucus MTG’s newfound allies in leadership have much more to offer MTG for her loyalty.

And we’ll be the first to say it: MTG’s path is the path Lauren Boebert should have chosen. Boebert’s demonstrated vulnerability in what should be an easy district for Republicans to defend should have motivated Boebert to ingratiate herself to Republican leadership who will make the decisions about whether Boebert gets the disproportionate support in 2024 she’ll need to keep her seat. Instead, Boebert has done everything she can this year to alienate House Republican leadership.

All making it more likely that MTG will be anchoring the far right in the U.S. House long after Boebert is gone.