The growing divide between Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) began on January 3, 2023, the first day of the new Congress.
Greene had already aligned herself with then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), making it clear she planned to support him in his bid to be the next Speaker of the House.
Boebert, on the other hand, was in the Anyone But McCarthy camp, and a confrontation between her and Greene seemed inevitable.
As debate began on who would be Speaker, Boebert and Greene had a nasty tête-à-tête in a House restroom, according to The Daily Beast.
According to multiple sources, the two women were nearly in a screaming match in the Speaker’s lobby ladies room just off the House floor.
“Greene questioned Boebert’s loyalty to McCarthy, and after a few words were exchanged, Boebert stormed out,” a source familiar with the fight told The Daily Beast.
According to another source familiar, while in the bathroom, Greene asked Boebert, “You were OK taking millions of dollars from McCarthy but you refuse to vote for him for Speaker, Lauren?”
That wasn’t all that took place, the source noted. As Greene continued to press Boebert, the Colorado congresswoman ran away like a child.
The first source said Greene was in a stall and, upon coming out, confronted Boebert about taking money from McCarthy for her re-election and then turning against McCarthy when it came time to vote. The Colorado Republican was allegedly unaware that Greene was also in the bathroom at the time.
“That’s when Lauren said, ‘Don’t be ugly,’” the first source said, before she—in the words of this source—“ran out like a little schoolgirl.”
When confronted with details of the dustup between the two women, Boebert again ran away, telling a reporter, “See you later. Bye.”
The two women are also going in opposite directions when it comes to supporting Donald Trump in his 2024 bid for the White House.
On one hand, Greene issued an early endorsement of the ex-president. Boebert, on the other hand, has left the door open to backing a Republican 2024 presidential contender that isn’t Trump.
“I certainly would not turn my back on President Trump. I am a huge supporter of his,” Boebert told a local Colorado CBS affiliate back in November, while not pledging her alliance to Trump’s 2024 presidential endeavor. The lawmaker went on to add that she also does “love” Trump foe Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor.
What remains unclear is whether it will be Boebert or Greene who winds up surviving in the new cutthroat world now that Republicans control the House. McCarthy is hanging on as Speaker by the skin of his teeth, and some in the GOP are already hinting they want to see him deposed and replaced by a more right-wing Republican.
Boebert and Greene, meanwhile, may need to try and coordinate their bathroom breaks to avoid future confrontations.
