The House of Representatives on Thursday voted to remove Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from two committees after she spread conspiracy theories and called for top Democrats to be executed in social media posts, The New York Times reports.
The House voted 230 to 199 to remove Greene from the Education and Labor Committee as well as the Budget Committee. The vote was mostly down party lines but 11 Republicans joined all House Democrats to support the move.
The move effectively takes away Greene’s ability to move legislation or conduct oversight through the committees.
Democrats asked Republicans to remove her from the committees prior to the vote. House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy reportedly offered to remove Greene from one of the committees or put her on a different committee than the Education panel but Democrats rejected the deal.
Greene won’t apologize publicly:
Greene reportedly apologized in a private meeting with Republicans and expressed regret on the House floor for pushing conspiracy theories about 9/11, which she said “absolutely happened,” and school shootings, which she said were “absolutely real.”
But she did not apologize in her speech, casting her comments as “words of the past” that “do not represent me.”
Greene, who wore a “free speech” mask, said that Democrats were trying to “crucify her.”
GOP backs Greene:
Though there were a few defections, nearly every Republican in the House voted to back Greene.
“I truly believe that the majority claiming a new right to be able to exercise a veto over minority committee assignments will ultimately be dangerous for this institution,” said Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole. “A change in norms away from an institution built on mutual consent and toward an institution where the majority holds a veto power over everything, including committee assignments, is ultimately an institution that cannot function.”
Democrats rejected the GOP argument.
“If anybody starts threatening the lives of members of Congress on the Democratic side,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, “we’d be the first to eliminate them from committees.”
