Red Flags and Radical Ties: Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Web of Extremism How Her Personal Compensation Spending Reflects Her Ideologies
Beyond her divisive rhetoric, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene’s spending reports reveal a troubling pattern: the individuals she hires with taxpayer money have red flags and radical ties that raise serious ethical concerns. Marjorie Taylor Greene has caused quite the commotion in congress these past couple of years. Whether it is her out-of-pocket comments or conspiracy-related remarks she has become quite the controversial politician. Just like every other politician, she is allowed to spend her money on her interns, travel expenses, equipment, rent, and other things of that nature. I have gained access to the house expenditure data that reports the spending of every member of the House of Representatives. But who are these people she is surrounding herself with and are these people whom she surrounds herself with be allowed to work for government officials? Should there be cross references of the people whom representatives hire as those people working for the representatives are paid with taxpayer dollars?
In 2021 Marjorie Taylor Greene had spent a total of $ 301,890.57, so where did she spend all that money? After some quick analysis of her spending reports, she had spent a total of 65.5% of $301,890.57 on personal compensation, 7.9% on printing, and 6.7% on rent and utilities. Those were Marjorie Taylor Greene’s top three expenditures but what caught my eye was that she had spent $197,738.32 alone on personal compensation. However, the vagueness of the term “personal compensation” in the House expenditure data is concerning.
In the house expenditure data under the personal compensation category, there is a column that is labeled purpose so that can give us an idea of where that money is going along with the name of the payee who received that money along with the amount the payee had received. Most of the personal compensation money was spent on interns, staffers, advisors, and assistants. Nevertheless, there were a few names that caught my attention and raised my curiosity as to why she was paying them because of these red flags. A part of my analysis was to cross-reference every name that she had listed under personal compensation. The first name that caught my attention was that of Rep. Mazzie Boyd who is a representative from the state of Missouri. Marjorie Taylor Greene had sent her a total of $2000.00 for “a communication assistant. Now, why is Marjorie Taylor Greene paying another representative labeled as an assistant? A quick dive into Rep. Mazzie Boyd shows that she is a staunch anti-transgender activist who is pushing for bills that label any drag show or drag show-related event to be considered a “sexually oriented business.” It is no surprise that Marjorie Taylor Greene has surrounded herself with people like that. Nevertheless, other names raised even more red flags. The name Travis Loudermilk appeared six times in her expenditure report. Travis is the son of Rep. Barry Loudermilk a representative of Georgia’s 11th congressional district. Barry was accused of giving tours of the capitol building right before the January sixth attack that rocked the nation. Marjorie Taylor Greene has been an avid election denier and there is continuing evidence that she is continuing to surround herself with radical dangerous people who have no place in our government. Another name that came up that raised alarms was Justin Kelley. Justin Kelley worked as a staffer for Marjorie Taylor Greene and is described as a large bearded man who is constantly brandishing firearms at rallies for Marjorie Taylor Greene. What sounds the alarm is that in 2013 Justin Kelley was arrested for stealing thousands of hydrocodone tablets from a pharmacy where he worked and only just recently completed his probation for it. So as a felon how can he legally be carrying firearms in public? In 2021 when Justin Kelley worked for Marjorie Taylor Greene he received about $13,000 from her. However, as a registered felon should Justin Kelley be allowed to work with government officials? A quick dive into Justin Kelley's Twitter shows he is a key player in the spread of misinformation surrounding the election and COVID-19.
Marjorie Taylor Greene raises many ethical concerns whether it is her uncanny and unsettling political views or the people whom she chooses to surround herself with. The ethical concerns raised by her choice of staff cannot be ignored. There should be background checks or even an ethical committee that screens people hired to work for the representatives. The money that is allocated towards Marjorie Taylor Greene is funded by the taxpayers. Members of Congress must be held accountable for the people they surround themselves with, especially when taxpayer money is involved. It is not just about Marjorie Taylor Greene but also about the integrity and ethics of our government as a whole. We cannot afford to have dangerous radicals influencing the political process in our country. It is time for the House to take a stand and ensure that taxpayer dollars are not being spent on people with red flags and radical ties.