Rep. Upton says GOP will have a ‘hard time’ governing with slim majority

On Sunday, Representative Fred Upton, who is a Michigan Republican, criticized the “MTG element,” a reference to GOP Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, saying she and others make it “hard” to govern.

Upton went on to say that he doesn’t think Republicans have ever had “as many” representatives elected to Congress in “that wing” of the GOP, referring to the likes of Greene as well as Representatives Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Paul Gosar of Arizona. “I think they’re very popular back at home,” he pointed out.

When asked what that tells him about the Republican Party, Upton replied: “Troubled waters, I guess you could say.”

Greene has suggested that McCarthy does not have the votes to become Speaker should the GOP take control of the chamber. “We know that Kevin McCarthy has a problem in our conference. He doesn’t have the full support to be Speaker,” Greene said last November.

“He doesn’t have the votes that are there, because there’s many of us that are very unhappy about the failure to hold Republicans accountable, while conservatives like me, Paul Gosar, and many others just constantly take the abuse by the Democrats. The American people aren’t going to have it,” she said.

Upton emphasized the importance of winning 230 seats in the upcoming midterm elections and questioned whether House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) could take the speakership with any fewer.

“Can Kevin McCarthy both represent you and Marjorie Taylor Greene?” moderator Chuck Todd asked Upton on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” 

“He can if he gets the margin. That’s why this over-under number is so important,” Upton responded. “You think he may not become Speaker if it’s under 230?” Todd asked. “It will be very hard to govern for Republicans if we’re under 230 [seats] knowing that we’ve got the MTG element that’s really not a part of a governing majority.”

Republicans currently hold 209 seats in the House to Democrats’ 221. There are five vacancies, four of which were GOP-held seats.