A testy exchange between Representative Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican, and Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, was caught on camera during the tense penultimate House speaker vote on Friday night.
C-SPAN cameras focused in on Boebert as she appeared to have an exchange with Greene during the 14th round of voting to see if Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, would be elected as House speaker.
In the clip that was shared to Twitter on Saturday, Greene could be seen reaching out to Bobert before the Colorado Republican looked down and appeared to mouth something before redirecting her eyes back in front of her.
Since being shared to the social media platform, the clip has been viewed more than 40,000 times as of Sunday morning.
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Speculation swirled from those online about what Boebert actually said, with many believing she used a curse word toward Greene. The exchange underscored the Republican divide as Boebert and Greene took opposing sides in the multiple ballots to get McCarthy to the speakership.
GOP control of the House of Representatives got off to a tumultuous start last week after a group of roughly 20 Republicans opposed McCarthy’s speakership bid, demanding changes that would weaken the speaker’s authority.
McCarthy, limited by Republicans’ narrow majority, failed to secure enough support to win the speaker election until late Friday night after 15 rounds of voting. His victory came only after former President Donald Trump, who remains a popular figure among many conservatives, urged detractors to back him.
Meanwhile, Boebert switched her vote to “present” during the 15th ballot, joining other lawmakers who had also changed their votes. Greene had supported McCarthy and his bid for the speakership from the beginning.
Newsweek has contacted U.K.-based lip-reading expert Jacqueline Press and representatives for Boebert and Greene for comment.
While Democrats were united behind House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, Greene hit out at fellow Republicans last week who held out against McCarthy and viewed him as a moderate.
On Twitter, she shared an editorial written by Representative Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican, that said he would vote with moderate Democrats to elect a bipartisan speaker if McCarthy failed to get enough votes.
“Like I said all along. Moderates will work with Democrats if the ‘Never Kevin Caucus’ just continue to be destructionists refusing to take the W [win] when they should,” Greene tweeted.
Like I said all along!
Moderates will work with Democrats if the ‘Never Kevin Caucus’ just continue to be destructionists refusing to take the W when they should. https://t.co/wuasNpXTwt— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) January 2, 2023
Boebert had been an adamant holdout against McCarthy and told reporters last Tuesday: “I have been working every day to unify the Republican Party. Yesterday, we had a deal, that was not a selfish deal n any way, for Kevin McCarthy to get him the gavel on the first ballot and he eagerly dismissed us.”
She later told Fox News anchor Bret Baier that the deal involved “putting forward a border security bill [and] putting forward term limits.”
In addition, Boebert shared a press release on Saturday where she reveled in concessions that had been extracted from McCarthy.
“House conservatives delivered a massive victory for the American people by fundamentally changing the way Congress will operate. We changed the way bills will be passed. We changed the way government will be funded. We changed the way committees will be formed. We secured votes on term limits, the fair tax, the Texas border plan and so much more,” the Colorado Republican said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
