Former President Donald Trump is privately telling those close to him that he plans to appoint Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) — a loyalist deeply devoted to the former president and his outlandish conspiracy theories — to an executive branch position of power, should he win the presidency again in 2024.
According to sources with knowledge of Trump’s conversations who spoke to Rolling Stone, Trump has repeatedly placed Greene’s name at the top of lists for top government posts.
“Wouldn’t she be great?” Trump reportedly said.
According to one of the sources who spoke to the magazine, Trump has mused about having Greene lead the Department of Justice.
“I don’t think she’s a lawyer,” the source added. (Greene, in fact, is not.)
But Trump, these sources maintain, appears hellbent on getting Greene into his administration, should he find himself in the White House again in the future.
“He loves MTG and would want her very close in a second term, that much was clear,” the second source told Rolling Stone.
Greene has expressed deep loyalty to the former president, which has been seen in her many social media postings praising him. Beyond that praise, Greene has also shared many false conspiracy theory ramblings of Trump, including his recent tirades against the FBI search at Mar-a-Lago for government documents he improperly removed from the White House upon his departure.
“I think there is an extremely high probability that the FBI planted ‘evidence’ against President Trump,” Greene wrote in a tweet from August, repeating an unsubstantiated claim from him. “Otherwise WHY would they NOT allow his attorneys or anyone watch them while they conducted their unprecedented raid?”
There is no evidence that any of the material the FBI found was planted, and such actions from the FBI to keep lawyers from observing them are not unusual, much less limited to Trump.
Greene’s appointment to an executive branch position would undoubtedly be controversial, and would likely be opposed by Democrats in the Senate, were she to be picked by Trump to head an entire department.
Over the years, Greene has shared antisemitic and other blatantly racist posts on her social media channels. She has also harassed Democratic lawmakers in Congress, including notably putting up a transphobic sign pointed across the hall from her own office to that of a lawmaker who has a trans child. She has also expressed support for violence toward high-ranking Democrats in Washington, D.C., and is an ardent defender of the far right breachers of the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021.
Although Greene hasn’t commented yet on the reporting from Rolling Stone, she does recognize her far right “stardom,” and has demanded that Republican Party leaders recognize it as well, should they win control of the House this fall. In an interview with The New York Times this week, Greene warned that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, the presumptive choice for Speaker of the House should the GOP win in the midterms, should give her “a lot of power” if they do indeed take control.
“I think that to be the best speaker of the House and to please the base, he’s going to give me a lot of power and a lot of leeway. And if he doesn’t, they’re going to be very unhappy about it,” Greene said.
Greene was stripped of her committee assignments early in her term due to the threat of violence and other alarming comments she has made in the past.
Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
As journalists, we have a responsibility to look at hard realities and communicate them to you. We hope that you, like us, can use this information to prepare for what’s to come.
And if you feel uncertain about what to do in the face of a second Trump administration, we invite you to be an indispensable part of Truthout’s preparations.
In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.
We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
We’re asking all of our readers to start a monthly donation or make a one-time donation – as a commitment to stand with us on day one of Trump’s presidency, and every day after that, as we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation. You’re an essential part of our future – please join the movement by making a tax-deductible donation today.
If you have the means to make a substantial gift, please dig deep during this critical time!
With gratitude and resolve,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy