Nancy Mace defends Kevin McCarthy's GOP leadership and says Marjorie Taylor Greene is 'out of control and totally unhinged'

• Rep. Nancy Mace defended Kevin McCarthy's leadership amid attacks by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
• She said "QAnon members of the conference" were "never going to listen to leadership."

Rep. Nancy Mace on Wednesday continued her feud with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy brokered a meeting between the two Republican lawmakers after they got into a daylong Twitter spat.

The dispute centered on Mace's condemnation of Rep. Lauren Boebert's Islamophobic comments about Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar. According to CNN, Mace and Greene on Tuesday met in McCarthy's office, where he was said to have chastised the pair and urged them to end the tension.

Mace was asked about the dispute at a separate event about cannabis legislation that she has sponsored. Asked whether McCarthy was "giving a green light" to extremist Republicans, the South Carolina congresswoman defended the GOP leader.

"I mean, he's trying to do his best, but you know some of these, you know, QAnon-sort-of-leaning, QAnon members of the conference, they're never going to listen to leadership, and they're not normal in any way shape or form," Mace said.

"The leadership has done a good job of trying to, I think, rein that in, but at some point, I mean, you know, she's out of control and totally unhinged," the South Carolina lawmaker added.

Earlier in the conversation, Mace also issued a broader condemnation of racism and bigotry.

"I won't tolerate members on either side of the aisle, or even within my own party, who are racist, who promote bigotry — religious bigotry or otherwise — or antisemitism," she said.

Following their fractious meeting Tuesday, Greene told reporters that she and former President Donald Trump would back a primary challenger to Mace.

"All I can say about Marjorie Taylor Greene is bless her fucking heart," Mace told reporters after that meeting.

Reached for comment, Greene's office sent Insider a statement that said: "Congresswoman Greene has said what she needed to say and is focused on stopping the Democrats' Communist agenda. Nancy Mace should do the same."

McCarthy has faced pressure from the right flank of his caucus as members like Greene have sought to exact punishment on the 13 Republicans who voted for the bipartisan infrastructure bill. Last week, she said on Rep. Matt Gaetz's podcast that McCarthy didn't have the votes to become speaker of the House if Republicans retook the lower chamber in 2022.

McCarthy's congressional office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the way Rep. Nancy Mace voted on Donald Trump's impeachment over the Capitol riot. She did not vote to impeach him.