Her first major loss of 2023
On January 26, the House of Representatives voted on an amendment proposed by Georgia's most controversial and divisive Republican - Marjorie Taylor-Greene. The proposal was intended to prevent the Biden Administration from selling oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
The proposal suffered a massive bipartisan defeat, with 418 representatives voting against it - all 213 Democrats and 205 Republicans.
Just 14 Republicans (including Taylor-Greene herself and her reliable ally, Matt Gaetz of Florida) voted in favor. What was perhaps even more savage than the defeat suffered by MTG and her amendment, was the treatment that followed from various of her critics online.
Democrats quick to criticize
New York Democrat - Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - a long-time critic of Taylor-Greene was quick to attack on Twitter, and pointed out that her amendment to amend laws associated with the drug psilocybin, received a more positive vote that MTG's amendment of January 26. MTG then responded in a tit-for-tat exchange, claiming that the failure would lead to more amendments in future.
Since Kevin McCarthy was elected to Speaker of the House - something that MTG had been championing for months, it appeared that Republicans like Taylor-Greene were enjoying a run of good fortune that coincided with taking the house majority. Immediately on appointing McCarthy, various members of the GOP voted in favor of measures to defund the IRS from recruiting a further 87,000 agents to investigate tax evasion.
Ever since then, MTG has gone on a personal quest to identify other individuals and federal agencies that she feels should be defunded, since their actions or purposes don't align with her priorities. Such bodies have included the ATF - who introduced a law prohibiting the use of pistol braces, and the special counsel investigating the conduct of Donald Trump and his possible involvement in the planning of the January 6 insurrection.
With the landslide defeat suffered by MTG and her amendment on January 26, it would appear that not everything is going quite as she would like it.
MTG building a platform to run with Trump
The heavy defeat suffered by Taylor-Greene at the hands of the House of Representatives comes at a time when she has recently reaffirmed her desire to be the presidential running mate for the one-term former president, Donald Trump.
It's undeniable that Taylor-Greene has regained some political power, and since McCarthy was appointed to Speaker of the House, she has regained her position on a number of house oversight committees including that for Homeland Security.
That she should still be proposing bills that seem to have very little merit for either Republicans or Democrats still suggests a certain amount of political naivety, as well as a lack of good judgment on her part. Indeed, only last week a Republican representative from Texas - Michael McCaul - was quoted as saying that MTG needs to be educated by other house Republicans. That followed an admission by Taylor-Greene that she has often fallen for theories she has read about on the internet.
Achieving the level of gravitas and credibility that would make her a compelling prospect for Vice President, still seems to be a long way off for MTG. This won't be helped by further bills and amendments that get defeated by such significant margins.
Do you think that Marjorie Taylor-Greene has the political credibility to be a presidential running mate for Donald Trump? Do you believe that she acts in the best interests of Georgians who voted for her? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Comments / 484