New rift opens between U.S. House Republicans over bigotry claims

By David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A new fault line opened between Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday, as lawmakers squabbled publicly over accusations of religious bigotry and racism among party conservatives.

In a fight that could further complicate Republican efforts to forge unity ahead of next year's elections, firebrand congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene on Twitter branded Representative Nancy Mace as "trash" for criticizing Republican Lauren Boebert for remarks about a Democrat that have been decried as Islamaphobic.

"@NancyMace is the trash in the GOP Conference. Never attacked by Democrats or RINO's (same thing) because she is not conservative, she's pro-abort. Mace you can back up off of @laurenboebert or just go hang with your real gal pals, the Jihad Squad. Your out of your league," Greene wrote in a tweet early on Tuesday.

RINO, the acronym for "Republican In Name Only," is an epithet often used to criticize party members not seen as adequately conservative.

Greene was attacking Mace over a recent CNN interview in which her fellow congresswoman likened Boebert's remarks about Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar to other "racist tropes and remarks that I find disgusting," which she said have come from both sides of the aisle.

Mace quickly shot back at Greene on Tuesday in a tweet describing herself as an anti-abortion conservative and adding: "What I'm not is a religious bigot (or racist). You might want to try that over there in your little 'league.'"

Greene, Mace and Boebert are all in their first two-year term.The exchange came a day after a failed effort to end the feud between Boebert and Omar, a Muslim who was born in Somalia. Boebert - like Greene an outspoken supporter of former President Donald Trump - had referred to Omar as a member of a "jihad squad" and said it was safe to ride with her in a Capitol elevator if she was not wearing a backpack.