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Washington — The House Rules Committee is convening Wednesday to weigh a measure stripping Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia of her committee assignments due to her embrace of conspiracy theories and suggested support for violence against Democrats before she was a member of Congress.
The resolution under consideration by the panel was put forth by Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida and calls for Greene to be removed from the House budget committee and the education and labor committee “in light of conduct she has exhibited.”
Chairman Jim McGovern, a Democrat from Massachusetts, started the meeting by stating it is unprecedented for two reasons: first, because Congress has “never had a member like this one before,” and second, because “the full Congress has never had to take this step.”
“When something like this has happened in the past, leadership on both sides always did the right thing,” he said.
McGovern said Greene has a pattern of endorsing violence and has said “truly appalling things.”
“The action that we are taking today isn’t about partisanship. It is not about cancelling anybody with a different political belief,” he said. “It is about accountability and about upholding the integrity and the decency of this institution. If this isn’t the bottom line, I don’t know where the hell the bottom line is.”
But Congressman Tom Cole of Oklahoma, the top Republican on the panel, said the actions by Democrats raise questions that do not have to do with Greene and called the hearing “premature,” as the matter should first be adjudicated by the House Ethics Committee.
“I do worry a lot about the precedent of another party choosing to” remove members from committees, he said.
Cole called Greene’s comments “repugnant” and “unbecoming of any member of Congress.”
How to watch the House Rules Committee meeting today
- What: The House Rules Committee convenes to consider a measure to strip Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green of her committee assignments
- Date: Wednesday, February 3, 2021
- Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Virtual
- Online stream: Live on CBSN in the player above and on your mobile or streaming device
After the Rules Committee considers the measure, it will be brought to the House floor for a vote by the full chamber Thursday.
Greene has been at the center of controversy since her first days in Congress, but Democrats have called for the Georgia congresswoman to be punished after it was recently revealed she peddled conspiracy theories about the 9/11 terror attacks and the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. CNN also uncovered social media activity in which Greene appeared to support comments that called for executing top Democrats, while Facebook videos uncovered last year show her making racist and anti-Semitic comments.
Greene’s conduct prompted California Democrat Jimmy Gomez to introduce a resolution to expel Greene from the House, while other Democrats are pressuring Republican leaders to hold her accountable for her actions.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy met with Greene on Tuesday, after which Republicans convened a last-minute meeting of the Steering Committee, which controls its members’ committee assignments.
McCarthy and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer then met Wednesday to discuss a possible deal to avoid a House vote stripping Greene of her committee assignments, though it appears those talks were unsuccessful.
Hoyer said following his discussion with McCarthy “it is clear there is no alternative to holding a Floor vote on the resolution to remove Rep. Greene from her committee assignments. The Rules Committee will meet this afternoon, and the House will vote on the resolution tomorrow.”
The reluctance by some House Republicans to take action against Greene stands in stark contrast to comments by some GOP senators, notably Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who lambasted Greene this week.
“Somebody who’s suggested that perhaps no airplane hit the Pentagon on 9/11, that horrifying school shootings were pre-staged, and that the Clintons crashed JFK Jr.’s airplane is not living in reality,” McConnell said in a statement. “This has nothing to do with the challenges facing American families or the robust debates on substance that can strengthen our party.”
Greene, meanwhile, claims she has the support of former President Donald Trump, and is fundraising off of the controversy.
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