Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, is pushing back against criticism from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee over her characterization last week of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza as a “genocide.”
The group, the largest and most well-funded pro-Israel organization in the United States, on Thursday called Ms. Greene’s position “a betrayal of American values” and said her posture was more in line with her ideological opposites.
“You expect anti-Israel smears from Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar,” the group said in a fund-raising email to supporters, referring to the Muslim American Democratic lawmakers from Michigan and Minnesota.
“But now, Marjorie Taylor Greene has joined their ranks — spouting the same vile rhetoric and voting against the U.S.-Israel alliance.”
Hours later, Ms. Greene defended herself on social media, suggesting that AIPAC was displeased with her assertions because they conflicted with the interests of the organization.
“The truth is AIPAC doesn’t like it because I UNAPOLOGETICALLY REPRESENT AMERICA!” she said. Ms. Greene added, “AIPAC needs to register as a foreign lobbyist by U.S. law because they are representing the secular government of nuclear armed Israel 100%!!!”
And on Friday, she wished a “good morning to everyone who is fed up with AIPAC.”
Ms. Greene’s comments last week broke sharply from the prevailing sentiment among Republicans in Congress, who have made unqualified support of Israel the fulcrum of their foreign policy approach.
The clash between AIPAC and fund-raising groups aligned with Ms. Greene, which have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Republican campaign arm, represents a rupture that could threaten the fragile G.O.P. coalition in Washington. The party’s narrow House majority is particularly vulnerable.
But Ms. Greene, who frequently denounces lawmakers’ allegiances to well-funded special interest groups as part of the “swamp” she came to disrupt in 2021, seems unbothered by the prospect of aligning herself against a group that has backed many of her colleagues. AIPAC, for its part, also donates large sums to Democrats.
For Ms. Greene, the issue is straightforward: She has insisted that AIPAC is interfering with a mandate from the MAGA base of voters to address the concerns of her Republican base. In her response to the group on Thursday, she also criticized a recent AIPAC-funded trip for lawmakers to Israel for drawing members away from their district during the August recess, also referred to as a “district work period.”
She wrote on social media, “While Congress is out on recess and supposed to be working in our districts, they just took a bunch of members of Congress to Israel to make sure they don’t step out of line.”
Ms. Greene’s condemnation of Washington norms is part of her broader effort to claim the role as the avatar for “America First” politics on Capitol Hill.
To her, sending money to Israel, Ukraine or any other foreign country is incompatible with her understanding of President Trump’s campaign promise to prioritize the needs of American voters above all other issues. Ms. Greene has said that the United States should solve its own domestic issues before taking a leading role in foreign conflicts.
“I’m fighting for my children’s generation and for AMERICA ONLY!!!!” she said. “Bring. It. On.”
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