Mitt Romney says GOP has no space for ‘kooks’ like Marjorie Taylor Greene

Utah senator Mitt Romney is the latest prominent Republican to blast congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene for her controversial past behaviour in recent days.

“Our big tent is not large enough to both accommodate conservatives and kooks," he said on Tuesday.

The two went back and forth on Twitter over the weekend, with the senator hammering Ms Greene for believing the “big lie” of a stolen election, and the Georgia firebrand responding that Mr Romney should “grow a pair or a spine”.

The comments today from Mr Romney follow an even harsher condemnation from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday, who implied the Georgia representative was a “cancer for the Republican Party”.

“Loony lies and conspiracy theories are cancer for the Republican Party and our country,” Mr. McConnell said in a statement that didn’t name Ms Greene but referred to her most controversial actions and positions. 

“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," he continued.

The congresswoman on Tuesday dismissed the criticisms against her as much ado about “a few social media posts", and accused Democrat Eric Swalwell of sleeping with a Chinese spy. (Authorities briefed Mr Swalwell around 2015 that a suspected Chinese spy had targeted him and other politicians, after which he cut ties with the woman, who had previously helped him fundraise. He isn’t accused of wrongdoing or having an intimate relationship with her.) 

The uproar follows recent reporting from CNN showing that before she got elected, Ms Greene liked comments on social media calling for violence and death to prominent Democrats like Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Nancy Pelosi. Ms Greene has also supported the QAnon conspiracy theory, harassed the survivors of school shootings, and said Muslim members of Congress weren’t legitimate. 

House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy has called the comments “deeply disturbing” and said he would meet with Ms Greene at some point this week, while Jimmy Gomez, a Democratic congressman from California, has sought to expel Ms Greene from Congress entirely. 

Ms Greene initially responded to the CNN story by saying she had many people manage her social media accounts over the years and, “Some did not represent my views".

She still has one important Republican backer though: Donald Trump. On Saturday, Ms Greene said she’d talked with the former president and retains his support. 

“I had a GREAT call with my all time favorite POTUS, President Trump!" she wrote on Twitter. “I’m so grateful for his support and more importantly the people of this country are absolutely 100% loyal to him because he is 100% loyal to the people and America First.”

The president endorsed Ms Greene as a “future Republican Star” in August.

Top Democrats have warned Mr McCarthy they will take the rare step this week of stripping Ms Greene of her committee assignments if she isn’t punished.