Democrats Dumbfounded by Greene's Committee Seat

They want Marjorie Taylor Greene ousted from Education Committee
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 29, 2021 8:04 AM CST
Democrats Dumbfounded by Greene's Committee Seat
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., walks on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 13.   (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was "appalled" to learn Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who once endorsed executing the speaker, was appointed to the House Education Committee. "What could they be thinking?" Pelosi said of Republican House leaders on Thursday, per Politico. "Or is thinking too generous of a word for what they might be doing?" She said the appointment showed "the disregard" GOP members have for the deaths of children in school shootings at Sandy Hook in Newtown, Conn., and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland, Fla.—events Greene has claimed were staged. And the speaker wasn't alone.

  • Committee chair Rep. Bobby Scott called on House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to "explain how someone with this background represents the Republican party on education issues." He added the appointment was supposed to reflect members' "commitment to serving students, parents, and educators."
  • Some Sandy Hook parents are chiming in as well. Jake Tapper tweeted a statement from Mark Barden, father of Daniel Barden, and Nicole Hockley, mother of Dylan Hockley, that reads in part, "Having a Sandy Hook and Parkland denier on the House Education and Labor Committee is an attack on any and every family whose loved ones were murdered in mass shootings."
  • Fellow Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger said Greene should be denied the privilege of serving on any committee, calling her a "Republican In Name Only," per Politico. The outlet reports freshman GOP Rep. Nancy Mace has also criticized Greene in private.

  • This comes after a deep dive into Greene's social media accounts. Per the Daily Intelligencer, Greene has claimed 9/11 was an inside job, said Muslims don't belong in government, and spread an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory suggesting 2018 California wildfires were caused by a space laser connected to the Rothschild family.
  • "She saw the Austin Powers movie and thought it was a documentary, I guess," Jimmy Kimmel quipped Thursday, per the New York Times. He added House Republicans had appointed their "screwiest, Q-iest member" to the Education Committee "hoping, I guess, she would get one."
  • Late Show host Stephen Colbert noted Greene's support for executing top Democrats is "probably going to complicate this year's congressional Secret Santa: 'Huh, let's see what I get here. Uh, my person gave me a severed horse’s head? I thought there was a $25 limit.'"
  • McCarthy has already had private conversations with Greene, who has also joined the House Budget Committee, "in an attempt to rein in some of her most extreme rhetoric," per Politico. In response to the latest criticism, he said he would speak to Greene again about her "disturbing" comments.
  • Democrats are taking steps of their own, including introducing a privileged resolution to expel Greene from Congress. While it's unlikely to pass, it would force "every single lawmaker, including members of GOP leadership, to go on the record when it comes to Greene," per Politico.
(More Marjorie Taylor Greene stories.)

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