Marjorie Taylor Greene could be the biggest loser in Kevin McCarthy’s resignation

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene bemoaned Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s resignation announcement in a social media post condemning her fellow Republican colleagues.

“Now in 2024, we will have a 1 seat majority in the House of Representatives,” Greene tweeted.

She blamed the GOP’s misfortune on the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus, which spearheaded McCarthy’s ouster from the speakership in October, and the 105 House Republicans who voted with Democrats last week to expel then-Rep. George Santos.

“Hopefully no one dies,” she added. 

Pretty grim if you ask me.

Greene’s post highlights the long arc of her and McCarthy’s relationship, from being somewhat estranged years ago to being political partners in the House in 2023. Greene, for example, backed McCarthy’s first speaker bid at the start of the year, and she vehemently opposed the successful push to remove from the role.

The Georgia Republican’s tweet on Wednesday underscores the possibility that she will end up the biggest loser after McCarthy leaves Congress later this month since his departure will arguably leave her with less power. It unquestionably will leave her without one of her most powerful allies.

Greene went from fiercely criticizing McCarthy to being one of his staunchest supporters this year, an apparent effort to wield influence in the House Republican caucus. 

Sidling up next to the former speaker allowed Greene to play his right-wing Svengali, in a sense. Before his ouster, Greene had boasted about her ability to convince McCarthy to use his speakership to pursue far-right goals, including the selective release of Jan. 6 footage to right-wing news outlets. And as my colleague Steve Benen noted earlier this year, McCarthy has showered praise on Greene this year, calling the conspiratorial lawmaker one of the “best” legislators in the House.

But now that McCarthy is leaving, it seems Greene may have placed her bets on the wrong horse. And given the fact she’s been attacking House Speaker Mike Johnson lately, one might say Greene’s back where she started in the House Republican caucus: on the outside looking in.