Majorie Taylor Greene says she is quitting Congress

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Marjorie Taylor Greene says she's 'sick and tired' of being around 'stupid people' in Congress
Story by ktan@businessinsider.com (Kwan Wei Kevin Tan) • 1d

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is fed up with her congressional colleagues.
"I am sick and tired of the stupid people in Washington," Greene said in a speech on Sunday.
Greene slammed the GOP last month, saying that she was just as disappointed as most voters are.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has had it with her colleagues in Congress.

The Georgia Republican unloaded on her fellow lawmakers during a speech in Arizona on Sunday. Greene was speaking at AmericaFest, an event organized by the conservative group Turning Point USA.

"I am sick and tired of the stupid people in Washington making horrible decisions, causing Americans to go broke," Greene said.

"The rich get richer and the poor get poorer, and that's because we have stupid people in Washington, D.C., and I can say that for a fact because I work with many of them," she continued. "And I'm not just talking about Democrats."

This isn't the first time Greene has ranted about the political establishment.

The congresswoman chastised her party last month when she told CNN that she was just as disappointed in the GOP as many voters are.

"Republican voters across the country are sick and tired of Republicans because they never do anything to hold this government accountable," Greene told CNN's Manu Raju

Randall Harold "Duke" Cunningham (born December 8, 1941) is an American former politician, decorated Vietnam War veteran and fighter ace, and convicted criminal. Cunningham served as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 50th district from 1991 to 2005, and later served prison time for accepting bribes from defense contractors.

In 1990, Cunningham ran for the U.S. House of Representatives, defeating Democratic incumbent Jim Bates. He served in the House from 1991 to 2005. Cunningham resigned from the House on November 28, 2005, after pleading guilty to accepting at least $2.4 million in bribes and under-reporting his taxable income for 2004. He was sentenced to eight years and four months in prison and was ordered to pay $1.8 million in restitution. On June 4, 2013, Cunningham completed his prison sentence. He was granted a conditional pardon by President Donald Trump in 2021.

In June 2005, a story appeared in the San Diego Union Tribune by Marcus Stern and Jerry Kammer, who later received a Pulitzer Prize for their reporting. The story revealed that a defense contractor, Mitchell Wade, founder of the defense contracting firm MZM Inc. (since renamed Athena Innovative Solutions Inc. and later acquired by CACI), bought Cunningham's house in Del Mar in 2003 for $1,675,000. A month later, Wade placed it back on the market where it remained unsold for eight months until the price was reduced to $975,000. Cunningham was a member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee at the time. Soon after the purchase, Wade's company began to receive tens of millions of dollars worth of defense and intelligence contracts. Cunningham claimed the deal was legitimate, adding, "I feel very confident that I haven't done anything wrong."

Later in June, it was further reported that Cunningham lived rent-free on a yacht named the "Duke Stir" while he was in Washington. The yacht was owned by Wade; Cunningham paid only for maintenance. An article in The San Diego Union Tribune reported that Cunningham liked to invite women to his yacht. Two of them said that he would change into pajama bottoms and a turtleneck sweater to entertain them with chilled champagne by the light of a lava lamp.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation launched an investigation regarding the real estate transaction. Cunningham's home, MZM corporate offices, and Wade's home were all simultaneously raided by several federal agencies with warrants on July 1, 2005.

On July 14, 2005, Cunningham announced he would not run for a ninth term in 2006, saying that while he believed he would be cleared of any wrongdoing, he could not defend himself and run for re-election at the same time. He admitted to displaying "poor judgment" when he sold his house to Wade.

Besides Wade, the three other co-conspirators were: Brent R. Wilkes, founder of San Diego-based ADCS Inc.; New York businessman Thomas Kontogiannis; and John T. Michael, Kontogiannis' nephew and the owner of a New York-based mortgage company, Coastal Capital Corp. Property records show the company made $1.15 million in real estate loans to Cunningham, two of which were used in the purchase of his Rancho Santa Fe mansion. Court records show that Wade paid off one of those loans.

In 1997, Cunningham had pushed the Pentagon into buying a $20 million document-digitization system created by ADCS Inc., one of several defense companies owned by Wilkes. The Pentagon did not want to buy the system. When it had not done so three years later, Cunningham angrily demanded the firing of Lou Kratz, an assistant undersecretary of defense Cunningham held responsible for the delays. It later emerged that Wilkes reportedly gave Cunningham more than $630,000 in cash and favors.

Cunningham was also criticized for selling merchandise on his personal website, such as a $595 Buck knife featuring the official Congressional seal. He failed to obtain permission to use the seal, which is a federal offense.

On April 27, 2006, months after his guilty plea, The Wall Street Journal reported that, in addition to all the favors, gifts and money Cunningham received from defense contractors who wanted his help in obtaining contracts, Cunningham may have been provided with prostitutes, narcotics, hotel rooms, limousines, and other amenities