Mitch McConnell Slams Marjorie Taylor Greene as a ‘Cancer for the Republican Party’

The United States Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell condemned Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Monday, calling her a “cancer for the Republican Party.” Greene ran unopposed for the House of Representatives this year, and is an avowed conspiracy theorist. However, it is rare for McConnell to criticize his party, especially in the other legislature.

“Somebody who’s suggested that perhaps no airplane hit the Pentagon on 9/11, that horrifying school shootings were pre-staged, and that the Clintons crashed JFK Jr.’s airplane is not living in reality,” McConnell said in a statement published by The Hill. “This has nothing to do with the challenges facing American families or the robust debates on substance that can strengthen our party.” McConnell did not mention Greene by name in his statement, but nobody — constituents, pundits or Greene herself — doubted what he meant.

Greene proved that by responding to McConnell in a tweet a few hours later. She wrote: “The real cancer for the Republican Party is weak Republicans who only know how to lose gracefully. This is why we are losing our country.”

McConnell rarely comments on the politics of Republicans in the House of Representatives, concerning himself mostly with the Senate. He also generally does not criticize his own party or do so in such strong terms. Even when McConnell has disagreed with former President Donald Trump or other extremists like Greene, he has done so through silence.

To some, his comments reflect the danger presented by freshman Congresswoman Greene. Last week, CNN published an extensive investigation of Greene’s social media history, finding several instances where she called for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi‘s execution. She also “liked” violent comments by her followers, suggesting an endorsement of domestic terrorist activities.

Along the way, Greene promoted a number of conspiracy theories, many of them based on racism, antisemitism, homophobia and white supremacist thinking. She suggested that some of the worst mass shootings in American history were “false flag” attacks planned by anti-gun lobbyists to change the public perception of firearms, going so far as to harass the victims of those attacks. She also questioned 9/11, promoted QAnon and Pizzagate, and questioned the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election.

House Democrats are reportedly threatening to force a floor vote this remove Greene from the Education and Labor Committee and the Budget Committee if House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy does not remove her first. Others want to see Greene removed from the U.S. Congress altogether.