Some vulnerable Republicans aren't cashing Marjorie Taylor Greene's $2,000 checks
Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images
- Marjorie Taylor Greene sent $2,000 checks to 18 of her colleagues' campaigns in March.
- But two of them — among the most vulnerable Republicans in 2024 — never cashed the check.
- Rep. Derrick Van Orden's campaign says they rejected it, while Michelle Steel's says they lost it.
Earlier this year, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene contributed $2,000 apiece to 18 of her colleagues, many of whom face competitive re-election races in 2024.
It was a shift for the pugnacious Georgia Republican, a further sign that she'd become a team player and an important element in her party's congressional fundraising efforts.
But spokespeople for two of those vulnerable Republicans — Rep. Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin and Rep. Michelle Steel of California — now say that their campaigns didn't end up cashing the checks.
Though the March 29 contributions appear in Greene's campaign filings with the Federal Election Commission, they never appeared in Van Orden or Steel's filings.
A spokesperson for Van Orden's campaign told Insider that they "chose not to accept" Greene's contribution, while a spokesperson for Steel's campaign claims that the campaign lost the check "due to a staffing error."
Greene's campaign, which did not respond to Insider's request for comment, has not amended its filings with the Federal Election Commission to reflect that the checks were never cashed.
It remains unclear why Van Orden — best known nationally for screaming at Senate pages and insisting that he did not actually step foot on Capitol grounds while attending the "Stop the Steal" rally in Washington on January 6 — would not accept Greene's money. His campaign did not respond to a follow-up inquiry from Insider seeking further explanation.
It could simply come down to optics. Van Orden represents a swing district, and Democrats are eager to tie more vulnerable Republican candidates to the party's electorally toxic far right. Accepting a direct contribution from Greene would only strengthen such attacks.
But on Capitol Hill, Van Orden does appear to be quite friendly with Greene, filming a video just days ago with the congresswoman poking fun at Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York's fire alarm controversy.
—Rep. Derrick Van Orden Press Office (@RepVanOrden) October 2, 2023
The Steel campaign's explanation that the check was "lost," on the other hand, is even more difficult to parse.
It's unclear why the California Republican's campaign wouldn't ask Greene's campaign to re-issue the check, or whether Steel is open to receiving money from the Georgia Republican in the future.
Steel's campaign did not respond to Insider's follow-up inquiry on those questions, and notably declined to comment to the Orange County Register when asked about the contribution earlier this year.
Steel represents a more Democratic-leaning district, and some of her potential Democratic opponents have already sought to use the contribution to tie the two-term congresswoman to Greene's conspiratorial brand of far-right politics.
—Kim Bernice Nguyen (@votekimnguyen) April 18, 2023
In a statement for this story, Derek Tran — a Democratic candidate who's raised significant sums of money since launching his bid to unseat Steel — characterized the campaing's explanation as a "dog ate my homework" routine.
"Steel takes money from MAGA extremists, oil companies, pharmaceutical corporations, and gun manufacturers, and then votes their way," said Tran. "It's why Michelle Steel was named one of the most 'corrupt members of Congress' and why I'm running for Congress to defeat her."
Contributer : Business Insider https://ift.tt/9VrBuPS
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Friday, October 06, 2023
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