Marjorie Taylor Greene: House Democrats take first steps to remove her from committee

Marjorie Taylor Greene: House Democrats take first steps to remove her from committee

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House minority leader Kevin McCarthy and Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, spoke before Hoyer’s announcement.

“I spoke to leader McCarthy this morning and it is clear that there is no alternative to holding a floor vote on the resolution to remove Representative Greene from her committee,” Hoyer said in a statement. “The rules committee will meet this afternoon, and the House will vote on the resolution tomorrow.”

After McCarthy’s hours-long meeting with Greene on Tuesday night, GOP members are getting nervous that McCarthy’s lack of action could encourage fringe members in the conference, damage the party’s reputation and ultimately serve as a long-lasting distraction that undermines their ability to win. , will endanger the House in 2022.

A senior Republican member of the House of Representatives, who spoke on condition of background to discuss the ongoing discussions freely, told CNN “if he does not act, he will continue to look indecisive.”

Another Republican member familiar with the process had a more colorful assessment: “Either he has the bed on this thing or he shows he’s going to get us through this. We have to deal with our own house. We have to clean up. make up the mess in our own house. ‘

The member argued that if McCarthy did not act actively, he would force his own Republican conference to walk the boards when Democrats enforce a resolution that would remove Greene from her committee mandates. It’s a tough vote and each member will be forced to decide whether to stand with Greene or not.

“It is the task of leadership to protect our people,” the member said.

Still, McCarthy is walking a fine line and needs to take a position on Greene that will not alienate some of its most conservative members of the Republican Conference, unleash the anger of former President Donald Trump or set a precedent that allows that representatives be drawn. of committees for comment they made before they were in Congress.

One member argued that while Greene’s comments were ‘bat **** crazy’, she made them before she was in Congress, and that makes it harder for McCarthy to act.

“We have to be considerate. “I would like to see her be a productive member of Congress,” the person said before adding. “I do not know if that is possible.”

When Greene received committee assignments a few weeks ago, the thinking among members and leadership was that it would give the congresswoman the chance to prove she could do the job and drive past her conspiracy theory.
The thought – before it resurfaced that she had harassed a Parkland survivor on Capitol Hill and argued that the shooting was a false flag event – was that the House Committee on Education and Labor had her under the supervision of Rep. Virginia Foxx would post. , a North Carolina Republican with the reputation of driving a stiff ship and standing up to colleagues stepping out of line. Greene was then placed on Budget, where the top Republican, Representative Jason Smith of Missouri, had the reputation of helping new members understand the complexity of Congress.

As more and more information about Greene’s past came out and because the congresswoman showed no remorse, it seems that the issue of keeping her on the committees became untenable.

After his meeting Tuesday with Greene, McCarthy convened the powerful steering committee for a late-night meeting. The GOP steering committee could remove members of the Republican House from their committee posts, but two officials with direct knowledge of the meeting told CNN that the committee did not make a decision Tuesday night.

During his meeting with Greene, McCarthy asked if she would apologize for her comments and views from the past, which she did not agree to, a person with knowledge of the matter told CNN. Another person familiar with their conversation also said that McCarthy provides her with a slew of options, including that she can show remorse and apologize.

McCarthy and the steering committee also discussed other options, including forcing her only from the Education Committee, but according to a person who knows the discussions, to stay in the Budget Committee.

Officials said the steering committee would meet again Wednesday to see if they could come to a decision. Greene did not meet with the panel.

The two officials who spoke to CNN on Tuesday night said McCarthy gave no indication that Greene regretted or regretted her comments.

This story was updated on Wednesday with further developments.

CNN’s Ali Zaslav and Ali Main contributed to this report.

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