GOP rep: Greene ‘theater’ has to ‘come to an end’

Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.) said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) political “theater” must “come to an end,” likely referring to his colleague’s looming threat to oust Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Ga.).

“Her theater and this constant effort to hold the Congress hostage has to come to an end,” Molinaro said in an interview on CNN’s “The Source” on Wednesday. “I’m going to have no part in it.”

“And a good number of my colleagues — conservative and moderate — believe that enough is enough,” he added. “It is time to move on and to move past this kind of nonsense.”

Greene filed a motion to vacate Johnson from his leadership role late last month. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) — a libertarian with an independent streak — is the only other Republican to publicly support the effort, saying Tuesday that he would co-sponsor Greene’s resolution.

The motion did not force an immediate vote on Johnson’s fate, but the threat has been looming over discussions about how to move forward with Ukraine aid.

Johnson revealed the text for a series of bills in his multipronged approach to providing aid to Ukraine, Israel, and other democratic allies overseas Wednesday. In rejecting a Senate-passed foreign aid bill favored by Democrats earlier this year, the Speaker has sought to mollify his hard-line GOP critics and put a more conservative stamp on the contentious foreign assistance. 

Simultaneously, the Speaker is also moving a border security bill, aimed at bringing more conservatives on board, that is likely to be dead-on-arrival in the Senate.

His strategy for moving almost $100 billion in foreign aid, however, has only aggravated the right flank of his party and put a spotlight on his tenuous grip on the conference he leads. To get the series of bills across the finish line, Johnson will need to rely on Democratic votes.

Molinaro, a first-term lawmaker, called for bipartisan action to helping the nation’s overseas allies.

“We have a bipartisan government, and the only way good policy is going to be made better, the only way we’re going to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our allies — Israel and Ukraine —the only way we push back against evil like Putin, is to do it in a bipartisan way,” Molinaro said.

“And I want to be judged by my ability and willingness to work across the aisle with anyone who’s honest and earnest about solving the problems that face America and the people I serve,” he added.