Recent reports about Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene confirm what Republicans already knew: She is an unserious person whose only claim to fame is lunacy and conspiracy-theorizing.
This was obvious when Greene first announced her candidacy in Georgia. She had voiced her support for the deranged QAnon conspiracy theory, questioned whether Muslims should be allowed to hold public office, suggested the federal government was responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and claimed the Parkland school shooting was a false-flag operation. Republicans welcomed her into the caucus anyway, rewarding her with two committee assignments.
Unsurprisingly, Greene is now a liability for congressional Republicans. A little digging revealed that Greene’s conspiracy theorizing was not just outlandish, but dangerous. She spread an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that alleged the Rothschilds started the 2018 California wildfires with a space laser, and she publicly liked posts calling for Nancy Pelosi’s execution.
House Democrats are moving to punish Greene and strip her from the committees, which is an appropriate response. Yes, it’s difficult to take Democrats’ complaints about toxic and incendiary rhetoric seriously when they refuse to hold their own members, namely Reps. Ilhan Omar and Maxine Waters, to account. But that doesn’t let Republicans off the hook.
Like it or not, Georgia’s voters sent Greene to Congress. She will sit in the House for the next two years. Hopefully, voters will reconsider and vote her out during the midterm elections. But while she’s in Congress, Republicans must keep Greene in check and prevent her malevolent behavior from dividing the House GOP and affecting its legislative priorities.
This is why it’s necessary to remove Greene from her position on the House Education and Labor Committee and the Budget Committee right away, just as Republicans did with former Rep. Steve King. Greene should not be rewarded with influential committee positions if she is going to continue spouting nonsense that harms her party. The hope is that this action would limit Greene’s influence and inspire another Georgia Republican to challenge her in 2022.
Republicans had the opportunity to act against Greene last week when her paranoid musings came to light once again. They failed to do so, and now Democrats are going to do it for them by voting her off the committees.
Democrats have an agenda here, and this move will serve them well. This is not really just about Greene; it is their chance to bring all of the House GOP’s divisions to light and hit them while they’re down.
House Republicans didn’t act earlier, and now they can only join Democrats in voting Greene off her committees when the resolution is brought to the House floor.
