U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has a reputation for making controversial statements. Her latest, on Presidents Day, drew widespread criticism yet mostly a telling silence from her fellow Republicans.
On Monday, Greene pushed for a “national divorce” where the country would essentially be split in two by allowing conservative states to secede from those that lean Democratic.
“We need to separate by red states and blue states and shrink the federal government,” she wrote on her personal Twitter account. “Everyone I talk to says this. From the sick and disgusting woke culture issues shoved down our throats to the Democrat’s traitorous America Last policies, we are done.”
It wasn’t the first time the Georgia Republican had floated her “national divorce” idea and faced backlash from those who said it sounded like she was advocating for civil war. But the timing and her new prominence in the U.S. House caused it to draw more attention Monday.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a fellow Republican who also serves as vice chairman of the National Governors Association, wrote in a response: “This rhetoric is destructive and wrong and—honestly—evil.”
Over the last two years as Greene rose from a social media darling of the far-right to a close ally of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., her reach has only grown. And that has led to much speculation about how she will use her newfound power and platform.
The signs so far have all pointed to more of the same but with a bigger microphone.
Democrats and centrist Republicans, such as former U.S. Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger and former GOP Chairman Michael Steele, were quick to criticize Greene. But most GOP officials in high office said nothing publicly.
With most government offices closed for Presidents Day and members of Congress home in their districts for the next week, it is possible the latest incident will have blown over by the time Greene returns to the U.S. Capitol next week.
But there were some signs Monday that at least some of the blowback had impacted Greene. She tweeted a bit of a caveat a few hours later, this time from her official congressional account.
“Impeach Biden or give us a national divorce,” she wrote. And in another post: “National divorce is not civil war.”
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Credit: Jason Vorhees/The Macon Telegraph via AP
Credit: Jason Vorhees/The Macon Telegraph via AP
ROCKSTAR STATUS. Former President Jimmy Carter’s declining health has brought all sorts of remembrances from celebrities honoring his legacy, including one from the Twitter account of late Gregg Allman.
In 1974, Carter invited Allman to a party he was hosting for Bob Dylan at the Governor’s Mansion. And in January 1977, the Allman Brothers Band were guests at Carters’ inaugural ball in Washington.
Credit: Associated Press
Credit: Associated Press
Allman clearly made a lasting impression on Carter. Asked at a Plains event about a decade ago about the most interesting guest during his time in the White House, Carter chuckled when from the back of the room someone suggested Cher.
“Yeah, Cher came with Gregg Allman,” he said of the rocker’s then-wife, before elaborating on how the band boosted his political fortunes.
“Gregg Allman and the Allman Brothers just about put me in the White House,” Carter said.
“They were the best fundraisers that we had. In those days, they would charge somebody $15 to come hear them play. And we were getting the whole $15 plus 15 more matching dollars. So, we got $30 every time someone came to hear the Allman Brothers Band play.”
The AJC also has much more about Carter, including how his alma mater — the U.S. Naval Academy — and loved ones in Plains are honoring the ailing president.
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Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
UNDER THE GOLD DOME, Legislative Day 21:
- 10 a.m.: The House gavels in;
- 10 a.m.: The Senate convenes;
- Committees meet throughout the day.
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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
SPEAKER FOLLOW-UP. House Speaker Jon Burns is quietly making his new job as speaker his own, but today he’ll follow late House Speaker David Ralston’s lead by also introducing mental health legislation.
Ralston’s Mental Health Parity Act was designed to significantly expand resources for mental health and addiction treatment in Georgia. After it passed unanimously last year, Ralston called it the most important work he’d ever done.
Burns will release details of his own plans later today.
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TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden continues on his scheduled trip to Poland after yesterday’s surprise early departure for a secret stop in Ukraine.
- The U.S. House and Senate are off all week.
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Credit: Steve Schaefer/AJC
Credit: Steve Schaefer/AJC
A DAY ON, NOT OFF. Midway through a two week recess, members of Georgia’s congressional delegation fanned out across their districts on Presidents Day.
- U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Atlanta, joined her Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority sisters at their 30th Annual “Day at the Georgia Capitol.”
- First-term Rep. Mike Collins, R-Jackson, met with constituents at Bonner’s Restaurant in Morgan County.
- Rep. Rick Allen, R-Augusta, sent out a news release reminding voters he was also among the Republican lawmakers who traveled to Texas last week for field hearings on immigration and energy policy.
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WHAT ELSE WE’RE READING.
- The Washington Post: “A nuclear reactor was melting down, Jimmy Carter came to the rescue”
- Rome News-Tribune: “Flowers doing some quiet saber rattling, Greene closing a few Rome doors”
- Savannah Morning News: “Hyundai plant set to be 3xs size of Montgomery, Al. plant”
- The New York Times: “Biden’s surreal, secretive trip into a war zone”
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Credit: Gary Black
Credit: Gary Black
DOG OF THE DAY. We asked and you answered, so welcome to The Jolt’s “dog of the day,” our newest feature to highlight the politically adjacent pooches of Georgia, a few accommodating cats and their owners.
First up, meet “OPie,” former Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black’s 16-week old German wirehaired pointer puppy. The three-term Republican waited until he was out of politics to get a new best friend — shortly after his last day in office and several months after falling to defeat Herschel Walker in last year’s GOP Senate primary.
Like many pointers, OPie is a working dog, since she’ll also be the mascot of Black’s new consultancy, On Point Strategies (“O.P.”- do you see what he did there?). Since OPie is already getting Black great news coverage in The Jolt, we say to her, “good dog.”
Send us your pups of any political persuasion (and cats on a cat-by-case basis) to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, or DM us on Twitter @MurphyAJC.
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AS ALWAYS, Jolt readers are some of our favorite tipsters. Send your best scoop, gossip and insider info to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com and greg.bluestein@ajc.com.
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