Kevin McCarthy: 'No restrictions' on Marjorie Taylor Greene committee assignments in a GOP-led House

07 November 2022

Although Never Trump conservatives cringe whenever Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia says something inflammatory, the far-right Georgia congresswoman and QAnon-friendly conspiracy theorist is popular among the MAGA wing of the Republican Party. Former President Donald Trump views Greene as a both a loyalist and a fighter — a fact that obviously isn’t lost on House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who is likely to become House speaker if Republicans retake the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2022 midterms. And according to CNN reporters Melanie Zanona and Kristin Wilson, Greene’s prominence in the House will increase if Republican McCarthy replaces Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi as speaker.

In an article published by CNN’s website on Monday, November 7 — the day before the midterms elections — Zanona and Wilson report that Greene has a good chance of becoming a part of GOP-led House investigations if McCarthy is speaker in 2023.

“Aside from working to recapture the majority, McCarthy has also been campaigning to win the speaker’s gavel,” Zanona and Wilson explain. “And a key part of that strategy has been elevating potential critics and controversial Trump allies. To that end, McCarthy has vowed to reinstate freshman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia to her committee assignments, despite being stripped of her assignments by Democrats last year for her inflammatory remarks.”

The reporters add, “Meanwhile, McCarthy reiterated his plans to boot Rep. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, from his seat on the House Intelligence Committee. When asked if he has any restrictions about which committees Greene can serve, McCarthy — who will have a direct say in doling out those assignments — said ‘no.’ Greene has previously told CNN she wants a seat on the House Oversight Committee, which will play a key role in GOP-led investigations in a majority.”

McCarthy told CNN, “She’s going to have committees to serve on, just like every other member…. Members request different committees, and as we go through the steering committee, we’ll look at it. She can put through the committees she wants, just like any other member in our conference that gets elected.”

When Zanona interviewed McCarthy on the air, he made it clear that he plans to include Greene on House committees. Zanona noted Greene’s history of “inflammatory remarks” and “denying the 2020 election,” and McCarthy told her, “Marjorie Greene is going to get reelected. She’s going to have committees to serve on…. She’s going to have committees to serve on just like every other member. And every other member goes through a steering committee…. Marjorie Greene is going to have committees, yes. She’s duly elected by her district and has a right to serve.”

It won’t take a major red wave for Republicans to regain control of the U.S. House on November 8. After enjoying a major blue wave in the 2018 midterms, Democrats saw their House majority decrease considerably in 2020 — and Republicans can retake the House if they hold all of the seats they are defending and can flip six or more Democrat-held seats. Liberal/progressive activist and filmmaker Michael Moore is predicting that Democrats will enjoy a “blue tsunami” on Election Day because of frustration over the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, but that isn’t a widely held view among political pundits.

The Cooking Political Report, FiveThirtyEight, RealClearPolitics and others who carefully analyze political polling data believe that Republicans are likely to retake the House, although it remains to be seen how large their majority will be.

CNN political analyst and former Barack Obama adviser David Axelrod, on November 7, argued that unless November 8 brings a major red wave — as opposed to, say, Republicans obtaining a majority by only flipping nine or ten Democrat-held seats — fringe figures like Greene will be dictating the direction of McCarthy’s caucus. McCarthy would not be able to totally marginalize Greene because of “the power that she has with the base of the party,” according to Axelrod.

The 67-year-old Axelrod told Don Lemon, Gloria Borger and other CNN colleagues, “The truth of the matter is, he needs more than 20 seats. He needs a red wave because if he doesn't get it, he's not going to be running that caucus — Marjorie Taylor Greene and that crowd is. And Trump will have a lot of say over who the next speaker of the House is.”

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