Marjorie Taylor Greene, McConnell Trade Slams

He didn't name her, but Mitch McConnell on Monday issued what is being described in multiple outlets as a "scathing" rebuke of controversial GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. And she then shot right back. The statements:

• McConnell: “Loony lies and conspiracy theories are cancer for the Republican Party and our country," said the Senate minority leader, per the Hill. "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. This has nothing to do with the challenges facing American families or the robust debates on substance that can strengthen our party.”
• Greene: "The real cancer for the Republican Party is weak Republicans who only know how to lose gracefully," Greene tweeted in response. "This is why we are losing our country."

• Context: In another statement, McConnell voiced support for House No. 3 Liz Cheney, who is facing a revolt from the right because she voted to impeach former President Trump, reports CNN. Taken together, the two statements "amounted to a rare step by the most powerful Republican in Washington to insert himself into an increasingly ugly intraparty feud," per the New York Times.
• Pressure on McCarthy: All of this raises pressure on House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who is scheduled to meet with Taylor Greene this week. Democrats say if he doesn't remove her from committees, they will force the issue in a rare move, but Taylor Greene says she has Trump's full support after speaking with him this weekend. No matter what he does, McCarthy risks further dividing the House GOP conference, which the Hill notes is "already embroiled in a civil war on where to turn next in a post-Trump era." McCarthy also will oversee a conference meeting Wednesday about Cheney. As of Monday night, it was unclear how he would proceed on either front, reports the Politico Playbook.

(More Marjorie Taylor Greene stories.)