House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) tried repeatedly to quiet Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and other members of his caucus after they interrupted and heckled President Joe Biden during his State of the Union speech Tuesday.
When Biden mentioned that some members of the Republican Party wanted to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits, Republicans loudly booed. A combative Greene shouted "liar" at the president, prompting McCarthy to shush and shake his head.
Later on, Greene interrupted when Biden mentioned China and the U.S. response to a suspected surveillance balloon.
"China is spying on us!" she shouted.
Behind Biden, McCarthy again could be seen shushing Greene and shaking his head in disapproval.
Greene and others also erupted at Biden when he mentioned the more than 70,000 deaths each year from fentanyl in the U.S.
"It's coming from China," Greene shouted.
"It's your fault," another Republican yelled.
Again, McCarthy looked crossly at members of his caucus and shushed them.
Upon taking over as speaker of the House last month, McCarthy reappointed Greene, an extremist and conspiracy theorist, to key committee assignments that Democrats had stripped her of in 2021 over violent and racist comments.
Ahead of Tuesday's State of the Union address, McCarthy all but promised that Republicans would be on their best behavior.
"We're members of Congress," he told CNN's Manu Raju. "We have a code of ethics of how we should portray ourselves, that's exactly what we'll do. We're not going to be doing childish games - tearing up a speech."
He was referring to when then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) famously tore up a copy of then-President Donald Trump's 2020 State of the Union address.
