Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) reportedly tried to place Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT) on a live phone call with former President Donald J. Trump Friday night moments after Rosendale voted against Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) for speaker of the House on the unsuccessful 14th ballot.
McCarthy’s loss on the 14th ballot came by just half a vote, adding further tension to the 118th House of Representatives that had been voting for a speaker since Tuesday. Al Drago, a D.C.-based photojournalist, tweeted an image of what was called a “heated exchange” between the two representatives following Rosendale’s vote for Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ).
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia, holds her smart phone with former US President Donald Trump on the line, as Rep. Matt Rosendale, a Republican from Montana, waves it off during a meeting of the 118th Congress in the House Chamber on Friday.#SpeakerVote pic.twitter.com/VWvOGfXd9Q
— Al Drago (@Al_Drago) January 7, 2023
Greene, who has repeatedly voted for McCarthy, is seen extending her iPhone on a live phone call with a contact named “DT.” Drago, who identified the contact as the former president, noted that Rosendale, who was one of 21 former McCarthy detractors, “waves it off.”
Heather Caygle, the managing editor at Punchbowl News, tweeted that members had informed her of the same “heated exchange.”
Members tell me MTG and Matt Rosendale we’re getting in heated exchange at same time as Rogers/Gaetz
MTG was telling Rosendale she has Trump on her phone and he needed to talk to the former president right then
Rosendale shouted repeatedly, “don’t you ever do me like that!”
— Heather Caygle (@heatherscope) January 7, 2023
“MTG was telling Rosendale she has Trump on her phone and he needed to talk to the former president right then,” she wrote. “Rosendale shouted repeatedly, ‘don’t you ever do me like that!’”
The Georgia representative took to Twitter and called it “the perfect phone call.”
It was the perfect phone call. pic.twitter.com/aRpf5pefoU
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) January 7, 2023
According to Caygle, Greene and Rosendale’s exchange coincided with another tense moment. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) was confronting Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) after Gaetz voted present in the 14th round when suddenly Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC) pulled back Rogers, grabbing him by the face. The incident came seconds after a conversation between McCarthy and Gaetz.
Rep. Hudson, R-N.C., left, pulls Rep. Rogers, R-Ala., as he confronts Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., during the 14th round of voting for speaker as the House meets for the fourth day to try and elect a speaker in Washington, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. (@AP Photo/@andyharnik) pic.twitter.com/ok3K8ERtfU
— Andrew Harnik (@andyharnik) January 7, 2023
Kevin McCarthy confronts Matt Gaetz during 14th House Speaker vote. #118thCongress pic.twitter.com/nMa9bm0KSN
— CSPAN (@cspan) January 7, 2023
Ultimately the fever pitch settled, and the fifteenth ballot proved to be the charm as McCarthy secured the position in the early hours of Saturday. Several Republican representatives emphasized the importance of Trump’s role in bringing about a resolution to this speaker’s race, as Breitbart News reported.
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