The show of force from Donald Trump’s staunchest congressional allies began almost immediately after 13 House Republicans voted this month in favor of a massive infrastructure bill that handed President Biden one of the biggest victories of his tenure.
“Traitor Republicans,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) declared in a series of tweets where she posted their office phone numbers after saying that all those in her party who “hand over their voting card to Nancy Pelosi to pass Biden’s Communist takeover of America will feel the anger of the GOP voter.”
Others chimed in. Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) promised to “primary the hell” out of any Republican who voted for the measure.
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) tweeted it was “Time to name names and hold these fake republicans accountable.” And, this past week, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) told a pro-Trump podcast that there was never a situation during the infrastructure debate in which Republicans should work with Democrats: “They were going to win it all, or we were going to win it all.”
Tensions rise among Republicans over infrastructure bill and whether any agreement with Biden should be tolerated
The continuing turmoil in the House GOP conference over how and whether to punish members who back anything supported by Democrats shows how an emboldened group of far-right House members is gaining influence over the Republican Party in Congress. These representatives are positioning themselves to further purify the House GOP conference as a branch of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement.
This MAGA squad consists largely of a handful of recently elected members and others who lack the traditional trappings of power such as committee chairmanships or leadership posts. But they have rocketed to fame — especially on the political right — with massive social media followings, frequent appearances on pro-Trump media and growing fundraising networks that get a boost with every provocative tweet or TV hit.
McCarthy floats possibility of giving Gosar, Greene committee assignments
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Nov. 18 signaled he would name Reps. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) to committees. (The Washington Post)
Most of all, they enjoy support from the former president, the most popular figure in the Republican Party, who praises them at rallies and echoes their incendiary rhetoric.
They have gained strength with the acquiescence of House GOP leaders who have either backed their positions or remained mostly silent when others in the party have raised objections to their approach. And they are asserting their influence as polls suggest the Republicans are on track to win control of the House next year, giving them a potentially decisive say in whether House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) becomes speaker.
Besides targeting the Republicans who backed the infrastructure bill — unleashing a wave of threatening calls placed to the offices of the 13 — these lawmakers in recent weeks have led the charge to recast the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and the effort to overturn the 2020 election results as defiant acts by patriots, not insurrectionists; oppose mask mandates in the House; and defend Rep. Paul A. Gosar (R-Ariz.) for posting an altered anime video that depicted him killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and swinging two swords at Biden.
Rep. Paul A. Gosar (R-Ariz.) on Capitol Hill on Nov. 17, the day he was censured. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
Their influence, or the fear of crossing them, has been apparent when Democrats have sought to punish them for violent or extremist rhetoric, with almost the entire Republican conference rallying to their side.
When the House voted to strip Greene of her committee assignments in February, only 11 Republicans voted with the Democrats even as some GOP members made clear they rejected her past violent and conspiratorial comments. This past week, that number fell to two on a resolution to censure Gosar and kick him off his committees, and this time most members focused their public remarks on attacking Democrats rather than addressing Gosar’s actions.
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“I think I have the support nationally, and it’s because I speak what regular people say. I speak what Republicans say at home, and you know, at dinner. I’m saying what they say in their breakfast meetings before work,” Greene said. “I’m saying what they’re saying at church and saying what they’re saying in their Bible studies. I’m saying what these parents are saying, when they’re going to their school boards.”
The Trump loyalists’ influence reflects the nature of today’s Republican Party, which treats the MAGA squad as celebrities — not the fringe they may have represented in the party of Reagan, the Bushes or McCain.
For Republicans, fealty to Trump’s election falsehood becomes defining loyalty test
For House Republicans, this means that members who have associated with white supremacists, used violent political rhetoric, spread Trump’s false claims about the election and compared pandemic public health restrictions to the Nazis’ treatment of Jews are becoming a bigger part of the party’s public face — a role that may only grow if Trump continues to embrace and publicly boost them.
“It stuns me and surprises me that some of the voters still send these people back. But that’s their choice and, as frustrating as that is to me, if that’s who they sent, then their voices are going to be heard here,” said Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah), whose views align more with the party’s pre-Trump brand of conservatism. “It’s the job of the voters to discipline — it’s the job of the voters to decide who gets to come [to Congress] and who doesn’t get to come.”
Bannon indictment divides Republicans on Trump, the party’s future
Across the Sunday shows, Republicans disagreed on Nov. 14 about the future direction of the party after Stephen K. Bannon was indicted by a grand jury. (Zach Purser Brown/The Washington Post)
Some House Republicans pushed back against the idea that Greene, Boebert and their cohorts hold outsize influence, noting that none of the 13 members who voted for the infrastructure bill have been punished by the party in any way, even if their offices have been on the receiving end of threatening and vulgar messages from voters.
“I don’t think it represents the mainstream, and sometimes the minority part of a party is the loudest,” said Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), who voted for the roads, bridges and broadband funding.
But the MAGA squad’s elevated place in the party was on display Thursday when Trump and McCarthy rallied to their side a day after Gosar was censured by the House.
Rather than move on from the debate over Gosar’s behavior, McCarthy told reporters that not only would he restore the committee assignments of Gosar and Greene, but also probably give them more prominent positions if Republicans win control of the chamber in the midterm elections.
“They may have other committee assignments. They may have better committee assignments,” he said. “I think with Gosar, those are the ones he wants. Taylor Greene, she was just a freshman. I know she has requested others. She has the right to serve on committees.”
That was followed later in the day by a ringing endorsement of Gosar from Trump. The former president made clear that he stood behind the embattled Republican who has stirred controversy at almost every turn, including playing a prominent role at an event this year hosted by an activist who has defended racial segregation and minimized the Holocaust.
“Congressman Paul A. Gosar has been a loyal supporter of our America First agenda, and even more importantly, the USA,” Trump said in a statement. “Paul is a Congressman who is highly respected in Arizona, strong on Crime, Borders, our Military, and our Veterans. He continually fights for Lower Taxes, Less Regulations, and our great, but under siege, Second Amendment. Paul A. Gosar has my Complete and Total Endorsement!”
Trump endorses Gosar as Republicans rally around the lawmaker who posted an altered anime video with himself killing a colleague
“Traitor Republicans,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) declared in a series of tweets where she posted their office phone numbers after saying that all those in her party who “hand over their voting card to Nancy Pelosi to pass Biden’s Communist takeover of America will feel the anger of the GOP voter.”
Others chimed in. Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) promised to “primary the hell” out of any Republican who voted for the measure.
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) tweeted it was “Time to name names and hold these fake republicans accountable.” And, this past week, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) told a pro-Trump podcast that there was never a situation during the infrastructure debate in which Republicans should work with Democrats: “They were going to win it all, or we were going to win it all.”
Tensions rise among Republicans over infrastructure bill and whether any agreement with Biden should be tolerated
The continuing turmoil in the House GOP conference over how and whether to punish members who back anything supported by Democrats shows how an emboldened group of far-right House members is gaining influence over the Republican Party in Congress. These representatives are positioning themselves to further purify the House GOP conference as a branch of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement.
This MAGA squad consists largely of a handful of recently elected members and others who lack the traditional trappings of power such as committee chairmanships or leadership posts. But they have rocketed to fame — especially on the political right — with massive social media followings, frequent appearances on pro-Trump media and growing fundraising networks that get a boost with every provocative tweet or TV hit.
McCarthy floats possibility of giving Gosar, Greene committee assignments
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Nov. 18 signaled he would name Reps. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) to committees. (The Washington Post)
Most of all, they enjoy support from the former president, the most popular figure in the Republican Party, who praises them at rallies and echoes their incendiary rhetoric.
They have gained strength with the acquiescence of House GOP leaders who have either backed their positions or remained mostly silent when others in the party have raised objections to their approach. And they are asserting their influence as polls suggest the Republicans are on track to win control of the House next year, giving them a potentially decisive say in whether House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) becomes speaker.
Besides targeting the Republicans who backed the infrastructure bill — unleashing a wave of threatening calls placed to the offices of the 13 — these lawmakers in recent weeks have led the charge to recast the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and the effort to overturn the 2020 election results as defiant acts by patriots, not insurrectionists; oppose mask mandates in the House; and defend Rep. Paul A. Gosar (R-Ariz.) for posting an altered anime video that depicted him killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and swinging two swords at Biden.
Rep. Paul A. Gosar (R-Ariz.) on Capitol Hill on Nov. 17, the day he was censured. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
Their influence, or the fear of crossing them, has been apparent when Democrats have sought to punish them for violent or extremist rhetoric, with almost the entire Republican conference rallying to their side.
When the House voted to strip Greene of her committee assignments in February, only 11 Republicans voted with the Democrats even as some GOP members made clear they rejected her past violent and conspiratorial comments. This past week, that number fell to two on a resolution to censure Gosar and kick him off his committees, and this time most members focused their public remarks on attacking Democrats rather than addressing Gosar’s actions.
ADVERTISING
“I think I have the support nationally, and it’s because I speak what regular people say. I speak what Republicans say at home, and you know, at dinner. I’m saying what they say in their breakfast meetings before work,” Greene said. “I’m saying what they’re saying at church and saying what they’re saying in their Bible studies. I’m saying what these parents are saying, when they’re going to their school boards.”
The Trump loyalists’ influence reflects the nature of today’s Republican Party, which treats the MAGA squad as celebrities — not the fringe they may have represented in the party of Reagan, the Bushes or McCain.
For Republicans, fealty to Trump’s election falsehood becomes defining loyalty test
For House Republicans, this means that members who have associated with white supremacists, used violent political rhetoric, spread Trump’s false claims about the election and compared pandemic public health restrictions to the Nazis’ treatment of Jews are becoming a bigger part of the party’s public face — a role that may only grow if Trump continues to embrace and publicly boost them.
“It stuns me and surprises me that some of the voters still send these people back. But that’s their choice and, as frustrating as that is to me, if that’s who they sent, then their voices are going to be heard here,” said Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah), whose views align more with the party’s pre-Trump brand of conservatism. “It’s the job of the voters to discipline — it’s the job of the voters to decide who gets to come [to Congress] and who doesn’t get to come.”
Bannon indictment divides Republicans on Trump, the party’s future
Across the Sunday shows, Republicans disagreed on Nov. 14 about the future direction of the party after Stephen K. Bannon was indicted by a grand jury. (Zach Purser Brown/The Washington Post)
Some House Republicans pushed back against the idea that Greene, Boebert and their cohorts hold outsize influence, noting that none of the 13 members who voted for the infrastructure bill have been punished by the party in any way, even if their offices have been on the receiving end of threatening and vulgar messages from voters.
“I don’t think it represents the mainstream, and sometimes the minority part of a party is the loudest,” said Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), who voted for the roads, bridges and broadband funding.
But the MAGA squad’s elevated place in the party was on display Thursday when Trump and McCarthy rallied to their side a day after Gosar was censured by the House.
Rather than move on from the debate over Gosar’s behavior, McCarthy told reporters that not only would he restore the committee assignments of Gosar and Greene, but also probably give them more prominent positions if Republicans win control of the chamber in the midterm elections.
“They may have other committee assignments. They may have better committee assignments,” he said. “I think with Gosar, those are the ones he wants. Taylor Greene, she was just a freshman. I know she has requested others. She has the right to serve on committees.”
That was followed later in the day by a ringing endorsement of Gosar from Trump. The former president made clear that he stood behind the embattled Republican who has stirred controversy at almost every turn, including playing a prominent role at an event this year hosted by an activist who has defended racial segregation and minimized the Holocaust.
“Congressman Paul A. Gosar has been a loyal supporter of our America First agenda, and even more importantly, the USA,” Trump said in a statement. “Paul is a Congressman who is highly respected in Arizona, strong on Crime, Borders, our Military, and our Veterans. He continually fights for Lower Taxes, Less Regulations, and our great, but under siege, Second Amendment. Paul A. Gosar has my Complete and Total Endorsement!”
Trump endorses Gosar as Republicans rally around the lawmaker who posted an altered anime video with himself killing a colleague