WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Marjorie Taylor Greene took her seat directly behind , a proximity to power for the that did not go unnoticed, as he unveiled the in Pennsylvania.
Days later, she appeared on stage warming up the crowd for Donald Trump, when to cast ballots for Republicans, including for control of Congress.
Once shunned as a political pariah for her , the Georgia congresswoman who spent her first term in the House stripped of institutional power by Democrats is being celebrated by Republicans and welcomed into the GOP fold. If Republicans win the House majority in the November election, Greene is poised to become an influential player shaping the GOP agenda, an agitator with clout.
鈥淣o. 1, we need to impeach Joe Biden. No. 2, We need to impeach Secretary Mayorkas. And No. 3, we should impeach Merrick Garland,鈥� Greene told The Associated Press outside the U.S. Capitol. Alejandro Mayorkas is the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and Garland the attorney general.
Scolding the media for having been 鈥渨rong about me" from the start, she said those who know better 鈥渢ake me very seriously.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 going to be a strong legislator and I鈥檒l be a very involved member of Congress,鈥� she predicted. 鈥淚 know how to work inside, and I know how to work outside. And I鈥檓 looking forward to doing that.鈥�
This is the outlook for the Republican Party in the Trump era, the normalizing of once fringe figures into the highest ranks of political power. It鈥檚 a sign of the GOP鈥檚 rightward drift that Greene鈥檚 association with extremists and nationalists, and about Jewish people have found a home in elected office. Her ascent brings into focus the challenge ahead for McCarthy, whose GOP ranks are filling with far-right political stars with the potential to play an oversized role in setting the policies, priorities and tone of the new Congress.
鈥淚鈥檝e said for a long time there鈥檚 a battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party,鈥� said Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 Democrat in the House, at a briefing ahead of the midterm elections.
When the congresswoman says outlandish things 鈥� as she did at the Trump rally earlier this month claiming "Democrats want Republicans dead, and they've already started the killings" 鈥� few Republican leaders dare a public or private rebuke of such incendiary language. In this case, she was exaggerating two local incidents involving politics, one that ended tragically in a fatality.
Greene鈥檚 political currency stretches beyond her massive social media following and her ability to rake in sizable sums from donors. Her proximity to Trump makes her a force that cannot be ignored by what's left of her mainstream GOP colleagues.
McCarthy鈥檚 allowance for Greene to sit front and center with leadership for the campaign rollout was not by accident but design. The Republican lawmakers in attendance celebrated her presence, calling it a sign of the GOP鈥檚 鈥渂ig tent鈥� that welcomes all comers. But Greene's arrival also signaled a stark normalizing of the most extreme elements in the Republican Party.
Longtime political strategist Rick Wilson, a former Republican who left the party in the Trump era, calls Greene鈥檚 brand of politics 鈥済overnment by trolling鈥� that marks a dangerous new era for the GOP and will make it difficult to govern. McCarthy is in line to become House speaker if Republicans regain the majority.
鈥淣o matter what the trolling part of the Republican caucus does, you can't ever satisfy them,鈥� said Wilson, now at the Lincoln Project.
With the departure of the last vestiges of the anti-Trump wing of the House GOP 鈥� Liz Cheney defeated by a primary opponent and Adam Kinzinger deciding to step down rather than seek reelection 鈥� 鈥渢hat鈥檚 it,鈥� Wilson said.
Greene swept onto the national stage in the 2020 election, catapulted forward even before she took office. As the lawmaker-elect from northwest Georgia, she attended a key organizing meeting at the Trump White House as lawmakers laid plans to object to the certification of Joe Biden鈥檚 election on Jan. 6, 2021. When she arrived to be sworn into Congress, she wore a 鈥淭rump Won鈥� face mask.
Democrats moved swiftly and unequivocally to reprimand Greene, , including trafficking in volatile conspiracy theories. Greene a few months later for comparing mandatory COVID-19 face masks to the treatment of Jewish people by Nazi Germany.
While some have tried to compare Greene to outspoken far-left lawmakers, it became clear even to Republican leaders that Greene stood in a category of her own.
At that time, McCarthy called her comments about the Holocaust 鈥渨rong鈥� and 鈥渁ppalling.鈥� Greene later apologized.
In many ways, Greene's arrival in the House traces the arc of the Republican Party's rightward evolution from the Newt Gingrich revolution that brought conservatives to power in the 1994 election, to the 鈥渢ea party鈥� Republicans that regained the House majority in 2010.
Jack Kingston, a former Republican congressman who rose during those earlier eras, said McCarthy was smart in welcoming Greene to unfurl the House GOP's "Commitment to America鈥� last month.
鈥淗e鈥檚 got to work with her, and he knows that," Kingston said.
鈥淕etting Marjorie Taylor Greene on board is very important,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 bring everybody in the tent, they鈥檙e going to find their own niche.鈥�
In the interview, Greene said she is certain she will be reinstated on her congressional committees if Republicans win the majority, eyeing the House Oversight panel, and is talking to leadership about other opportunities in the new Congress.
Not only does Greene want to impeach Biden and Cabinet officials, she is eager to conduct investigations, including into the origins of COVID-19.
Last month, Greene unveiled legislation that is another priority 鈥� her bill to prohibit some gender reassignment procedures on minors 鈥� flanked by a dozen Republican lawmakers and leaders in the conservative movement. Many of them praised the congresswoman for her work.
鈥淚 want to thank Marjorie Taylor Greene 鈥� who is soon to get her full legislative powers back, by the way,鈥� said Matt Schlapp, chairman of the Conservative Political Action Committee, who hugged her afterward.
鈥淚f this is the type of thing that you鈥檙e going to have the courage to do, I think that鈥檚 something everybody needs to understand,鈥� Schlapp said.
McCarthy and Greene appear to have come to an understanding that they need each other. The leader needs Greene to come into the GOP fold rather than throw rocks from outside. She needs McCarthy鈥檚 blessing to regain committee assignments, enabling her to participate more fully in Congress and put her imprint on legislation.
At the Pennsylvania event McCarthy batted away questions about his ability to govern if Republicans win the majority.
鈥淣ame me one person in the conference that is opposed to this,鈥� he said afterward of their platform. 鈥淚s that a difference? Yes.鈥�
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Follow AP for full coverage of the midterms at https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections
Lisa Mascaro, The Associated Press
