Rep. Greene: Republican Party Still Belongs to Trump

Rep. Marjorie Greene (R-Ga.) speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill, Washington on Feb. 5, 2021. Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images

In a press conference on Friday, embattled Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said the future of the Republican party—a topic of much debate and infighting in recent times—still belongs to former President Donald Trump.

A day ago, the House adopted a resolution to remove Greene from two committee posts over her past comments and actions. The vote on the Democrat-backed resolution was 230–199, largely along party lines. Three lawmakers did not vote. Eleven Republicans joined Democrats in voting yes to remove Greene from the committees.

Greene defended Trump in her speech and said Republicans still largely support him to this day. She said the Republican party still belongs to Trump.

“He was a president that didn’t care about your skin color because God created us all equal,” she told reporters on Capitol Hill. “He was a president that wanted every single person to achieve and that’s why we support him. That’s why I’ve always supported him and I want to tell you Republican voters support him still. The party is his—it doesn’t belong to anybody else.”

A record number of Americans voted for Trump, including a record number of Republicans, noted Greene.

“Do you want to know why? It’s because they loved his policies. They loved his fight,” she said. “They love the fact that for once we had a president that stood up for America, stood up for American businesses, and remembered the forgotten man.”

At one point during the conference Green started talking about the Republicans who broke with their party in order to vote Greene off of her committee posts. Her assignments were to the House Budget Committee and the House Education and Labor Committee.

The congresswoman said these Republicans committed a “big betrayal” that could cost the GOP the House majority in the 2022 election.

“There were 10 that voted for impeachment against President Trump and they definitely paid the price,” she said. “They heard from Republican voters. There were 11 that voted against me yesterday and that’s something that our leaders should be very upset about.”

The Republicans who joined Democrats in their vote were Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.), Chris Jacobs (R-N.Y.), John Katko (R-N.Y.), Young Kim (R-Calif.), Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.), Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.), Chris Smith (R-N.J.), and Fred Upton (R-Mich.).

Republican leadership in the House opposed the vote, saying it could set a dangerous precedent for punishing lawmakers over comments made before taking office. But Democrats said the action was necessary, alleging a failure in Republican leadership after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) did not move to remove Greene from her committee posts. McCarthy on Wednesday denounced her past comments.

Greene said on Friday that she is fine with being kicked off of her committees, saying that with the Democrat majority it would be “a waste of my time.”

“So now I have a lot of free time on my hands, which means I can talk to a whole lot more people all over this country ... I look forward to going home and seeing people in my district,” she said. “I’m thankful and overwhelmed by their support.

Greene’s comments come as Trump faces his second impeachment trial slated to begin next week. Senators from both parties said Thursday they don’t want Trump to testify during the upcoming trial.

Mimi Nguyen Ly contributed to this report