Georgia’s first Republican provoked outrage from across the House Democratic Caucus even before she was elected in November. But the anger has escalated in recent days after CNN and Media Matters discovered Facebook posts in which Greene spread lies that Sandy Hook and other deadly school shootings had been staged. Another post shows that Greene has repeatedly endorsed the executive top Democrats – including Pelosi himself – in 2018 and 2019.
Pelosi indicated on Thursday that she would take the lead directly on Kevin McCarthy, leader of the House of Minorities, who said through a spokesman that he planned to have a “conversation” with Greene about her “disturbing” commentary. But so far there are no signs that the California Republican intends to deprive her of the newly crowned committee seats, even if at least one member of the GOP conference publicly demands that McCarthy take such a step.
Greene’s office said she did not intend to resign, citing strong and sustained support from her voters at home.
Greene’s fate leads to tension throughout the house, which remains on fire just three weeks after the January 6 riot at the Capitol. Many Democrats say they are still troubled by the potential role of IDP members in the attack, including Greene, who helped lead the charge in a failed attempt to overthrow the results of the 2020 election and blame gain. even by some Republicans to help fuel the uprising. The House has accused former President Donald Trump of inciting the mob that stormed the Capitol.
Top Democrats, including Pelosi, said the role of GOP lawmakers in the riot was being investigated, and that members could face repercussions if federal lawmakers found they were indeed involved in any planning.
“The enemy is inside the House of Representatives,” Pelosi said. “We have members of Congress who want to bring guns to the floor and have threatened violence against other members.”
In one sign of tangible anger toward Greene, Home Education Committee chairperson Bobby Scott (D-Va.) Took the unusual step of denouncing Greene’s nomination to his committee, citing her offensive comments about shootings. at mass school.
“The leader of the House Minority, Kevin McCarthy, must explain how someone with this background represents the Republican Party on education issues,” Scott wrote in a scathing statement Thursday.
Some Democrats are not waiting for IDP leaders to act. Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-California) proposes a resolution to suspend Greene from Congress, which will require two-thirds support in the House. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) Is preparing legislation to kick Greene off her committees if she is allowed to stay. Although eviction is unlikely, Democrats do not rule out additional measures against Greene.
“She should not have a public platform to further spread dangerous lies,” Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), Chair of the House Ethics Committee, which represents Parkland, Florida, where teens were shot in high school. in 2018. Greene was also seen on video harassing a survivor of the shooting in a January 2019 video that recently resurfaced.
Not in a House committee. Not as a member of Congress, ”Deutch said.
The episode is just the latest Greene-induced headache for GOP leaders. After POLITICO discovered a series of racist Facebook videos last summer, McCarthy and other top Republicans rushed to condemn Greene, who was then still a congressional candidate.
But to the frustration of many House Republicans, McCarthy did little to stop Greene from winning her primary. She was then welcomed with open arms at the IDP conference and seats on the Education Panel as well as the House Budget Committee, which will play a key role if Democrats use reconciliation to pass another coronavirus relief package. Greene also joined the Conservative House Freedom Caucus, which endorsed her candidacy and gave it a boost.
McCarthy has urged lawmakers and the media to give Greene a chance, and has already held private talks with her in an effort to harness some of her most extreme rhetoric. Greene did denounce the QAnon, despite having previously adopted some of the movement’s far-right conspiracy theories.
And in recent days, Greene has scoured her social media pages for offensive remarks – a sign that she’s doing some damage control, even as she backs critics of her comments from the past.
But while Democrats are stepping up their efforts to punish Greene, McCarthy now finds himself in a dilemma. The GOP leader has shown that he is prepared to hold legislators accountable for crossing the border: In 2019, McCarthy stripped former representative Steve King (R-Iowa) of his instructions from the committee to ask why the term ‘white nationalism ‘was offensive. Yet King had a long history of infectious remarks, and it took years before he was sentenced to any punishment. King also had few allies on the Hill; to the relief of many in the IDP, the last cycle in a pre-election lost re-election.
Greene was embraced by conservative runners-up, and Trump called her a “future Republican star.” McCarthy could face heat from the right if he tried to discipline her. It is highly unlikely that she will soon experience the effects of Republican leaders, as the comments were made before her time in Congress. Moreover, others in the IDP point out that such a move would only make Greene a martyr on the right.
Not everyone in the Republican Conference stands by Greene. First-year Nancy Mace (RS.C.) called her in private conversations, while Representative Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) Said Greene’s rhetoric could incite further uprisings and call her a ‘Republican by name alone’.
“She may be like this new definition of Republican, but it’s kind of a RINO thing,” Kinzinger told CNN on Thursday. “I do not think she should have the privilege of any committees.”
Democratic leaders, however, may be reluctant to fight Greene himself. It could incite a tassel with Republicans, which could fire back with resolutions of no confidence and other own punitive measures. Instead, Pelosi is trying to place responsibility for acting directly with the IDP.
Still, Democrats plan to use Greene’s embrace of GOP as a campaign issue in 2022 by trying to bind the entire party to QAnon.
“Minority leader McCarthy and NRCC chairman Tom Emmer not only swung the mob and welcomed QAnon conspirator Marjorie Taylor Green into their caucus, but placed her front and center as a key player,” the spokesman said. of DCCC, Brooke Goren, said. “Americans have died at the hands of the QAnon mob, now vulnerable Republicans of the House will have to answer for the violence.”