The GOP’s office will sit down later this week for a discussion with Greene. But whether McCarthy removes her from her committee mandates, as many Democrats and even some Republicans ask, depends on how his private interaction with Greene proceeds.
Meanwhile, a group of House Democrats is determined to punish Greene for her rhetoric and conspiracy theories, and has drawn up a number of measures to do so. It includes two of the most severe sanctions that can be taken against a member of Congress: a formal miscarriage of justice and expulsion from the House.
Another measure – which Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) Plans to introduce later Monday – will expel Greene from all House committees.
For now, Democrats say they are waiting for McCarthy’s meeting with the first-year student in Georgia, but few expect him to act himself.
“If we wait for Kevin McCarthy to have a moral compass, it will never happen,” the rep said. Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.), Who represents the site of the Sandy Hook shooting, told reporters on Monday when she demanded that the House act to strip Greene of all committee positions.
Wasserman Schultz said she plans to enforce a vote on her resolution within days using a speedy process reserved for privileged resolutions. Another resolution by Representative Jimmy Gomez (D-California) to expel Greene from Congress was also privileged and could be discussed this week.
So far, Greene has remained challenging in public, though she has scrubbed some of her previous social media posts. And over the weekend, she claimed she spoke to Trump and had his full support, which would make it harder for McCarthy to punish Greene.
“I think Republican leaders should stand up and say that it is completely unacceptable what she said,” Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, Dana Bash.
Asked whether Greene should be stripped of her seats on the House’s Education and Labor Committee and the House Budget Committee, Portman said it could send a strong message.
“I assume it’s something they’re looking at, and I would not be surprised if it happens,” he said. ‘And you know, I think that’s the way to send a message. The voters who elected her to her district in Georgia should be respected. On the other hand, there must be strong reaction to this kind of behavior. ”
What the GOP decides to do to Cheney and Greene will provide important clues as to the direction of the party in the post-Trump era. Some Republicans warn that the fact that Cheney will be punished while leaving Greene untouched – and thus connecting the party even closer to Trump – could be a big black eye for the party heading into 2022.
And next week, Trump’s indictment begins in the Senate. But despite a slew of Republicans, including Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Condemning Trump for inciting a crowd that attacked the Capitol, a conviction is highly unlikely; 45 Republicans have said it is unconstitutional to try a former president.
‘But the reality is this: it’s a time to choose. It’s a time to choose what we’re going to be, ‘said Representative Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), Who voted for accusation and launched a new PAC aimed at restoring conservative principles in the IDP, on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “And my goal in launching Country1st.com, number one, is just to say: look, let’s look at the last four years, how far we’re on a bad way, how backward we are looking, how much we proclaim darkness and division. ”
“And this is not the party I ever joined, and I think most Republicans did not sign up for it,” he added.
The looming and confusing intra-party battle comes when McCarthy pleads with Republicans to stop attacking each other in public. The minority leader, who is desperate to keep his ranks united as they focus on next year’s mediocrity, tried to correct Trump and even met him at his Florida resort last week. After the meeting, McCarthy made it clear that the former president would be an integral part of their efforts to win back the House.
“United and ready to win in ’22,” McCarthy tweeted after his meeting with Trump.
Yet some Republicans, including the fiery Florida representative Matt Gaetz, blatantly ignored McCarthy’s party unity pleas. Last week, Gaetz even campaigned against Cheney by flying to Wyoming, where Donald Trump Jr. The former president’s son in particular also praised McCarthy as the GOP leader.
‘I’ve seen it first hand since 2016 @GOPLeader was the strongest House GOP leader of my life, ”he tweeted, along with a photo of Trump and McCarthy from their recent meeting. “He has always fought for my father and our movement. Proud to call Kevin a friend and I am excited to work closely with him to take back the House in 2022! ”
Meanwhile, Democrats are already indicating that their campaign strategy in 2022 will focus heavily on yoking the entire Republican Party for Greene and the fringe QAnon movement. The office of the speaker, Nancy Pelosi, published a news release over the weekend in which McCarthy’s party affiliation appeared as ‘QAnon’ instead of the GOP.