Tensions between far-right Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., boiled over onto the House floor Wednesday as Boebert tried unsuccessfully to force a vote on her resolution to impeach President Joe Biden.
During the vote on the resolution Wednesday afternoon, Greene and Boebert had a testy exchange on the floor, according to the Daily Beast. Boebert approached Greene, who was initially seated in the chamber, and confronted her about “statements you made about me publicly,” the news outlet reported, citing two sources who saw the exchange and a third familiar with the matter.
Greene then called Boebert “a little b----,” the Daily Beast reported, adding that Greene accused Boebert of having copied articles of impeachment she filed against Biden. Boebert pushed back at Greene’s claim, saying that she had not read the Georgia lawmaker's resolution, the news outlet said.
Nick Dyer, a spokesperson for Greene, confirmed to NBC News that the outlet’s characterization of the interaction was accurate.
“I had already introduced articles of impeachment on Joe Biden for the border, asked her to co-sponsor mine — she didn’t,” Greene told reporters Wednesday. “She basically copied my articles and then introduced them and then changed them to a privileged resolution.”
Greene, who has been feuding with Boebert for months, has also vowed to introduce privileged resolutions to impeach Biden and other top administration officials.
Asked about Greene’s claims that she copied her resolution, Boebert said: “I’m not in middle school.”
Boebert had offered a privileged resolution to impeach Biden, which allowed her to force a House floor vote on it. But House Republicans ultimately decided to forgo the vote and instead refer the measure to the Homeland Security and Judiciary committees — a move the House Rules Committee advanced in a last-minute meeting after huddling with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. The House could vote on sending the measure to committee as soon as Thursday.
McCarthy urged rank-and-file Republicans at a closed-door meeting Wednesday to oppose Boebert’s resolution. He argued that bringing the resolution straight to the floor might be premature and that it should go through the committee process, three GOP sources who heard the comments confirmed to NBC News.
The committee referrals would allow Republicans who don't think it appropriate to impeach Biden to avoid a vote on the resolution — which could make GOP lawmakers politically vulnerable in the 2024 primaries.
When Democrats held the majority in the chamber, McCarthy accused them of rushing to impeach then-President Donald Trump. Now, as House speaker, McCarthy is warning Republicans against falling into the same trap by immediately voting to impeach Biden.
Boebert’s resolution is part of a broad House Republican effort to retaliate against Biden, administration officials and Democratic lawmakers. The House voted largely along party lines Wednesday to censure Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., for his outspoken criticisms of Trump and his role in leading the first impeachment inquiry into the former president.
