The United States House of Representatives on Thursday decided to punish Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene for defending conspiracy theories, supporting acts of violence against members of Congress, among other controversial actions.
By 230 votes to 199, Greene was removed from two committees to which she had been appointed by her party, the same as former President Donald Trump.
The deputy is at the center of a great controversy just weeks after taking office.
It all started after careful examination of the posts she made on her social media between 2018 and 2019, which revealed a series of posts criticized even by her party colleagues.
It also prompted Democrats to demand that she be removed from committees where she has served. But in the face of the Republican Party’s refusal to do so, Democrats, who control the House, have risen to vote on Greene’s expulsion from committees.
Most laws that pass through Congress go through a committee before they reach the floor. Being part of these bodies can be decisive for the influence of legislators.
Greene has come to prominence for his support for QAnon, a conspiracy theory that claimed former President Donald Trump was waging a war against a conspiracy of child molesters.
Before the vote, she said she regretted supporting QAnon, but made no apologies.
“I was made to believe things that weren’t true,” she said. “And I absolutely regret it. But the media is just as guilty as QAnon of promoting lies.”
But his speech was not enough to prevent his expulsion from committees, which was supported by 11 Republican MPs and all Democrats.
Greene was a businesswoman turned conservative activist before being elected in November to represent a district in southern Georgia.
It was her first time running for Congress. His sympathy for QAnon was already known to the public.
This led some Republicans, including then-House Minority Leader Steve Scalise, to support other candidates for his party’s nomination.
Once she won the party primaries, however, criticism subsided and she defeated her Democratic opponent in the election.
Last month, Greene filed an impeachment lawsuit against President Joe Biden, accusing him of corruption and abuse of power.
She also claimed that Biden had let her son, Hunter, “suck money from America’s biggest enemies, Russia and China.”
This made her a hero in the eyes of the pro-Trump wing of the Republican Party.
In the days following Trump’s defeat, in which the former president said fraud had occurred in several states, Greene was one of his main supporters.
She traveled with the former president to a rally in Georgia in early January, where Trump paused during his hour-long speech, criticizing the “rigged” elections, the media, the Supreme Court and Republican officials who failed to do so. have not supported enough to call. you on stage.
“I love you,” Trump said, giving him the microphone. “Don’t mess with her. Don’t mess with her.”
What other controversies is she involved in?
In addition to supporting QAnon in the past, Greene liked or posted a series of comments that generated repulsion even from Republicans.
The MP liked messages that incited violence against Democratic lawmakers.
He claimed that the school shootings and the September 11 terrorist attack were organized events. He also argued that Muslims should not work in government.
Greene also said black people “are slaves to the Democratic Party” and white men are the most repressed group in the United States.
She said Hillary Clinton, Trump’s opponent in the 2016 White House race, was involved in a ring of pedophilia and child mutilation.
In a recently released video, recorded weeks after the February 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas School in Parkland, Fla., Greene appears following David Hogg, a survivor of the attack who is a control activist armaments.
The deputy lashes out at Hogg as he walks down the sidewalk, wondering why he wanted to confiscate his guns.
Greene calls him a “coward” for refusing to answer and says he is funded by billionaire George Soros and other wealthy liberals.
What was the reaction in Congress?
Democrats issued an ultimatum on Monday asking the Republican Party to remove Greene from the two committees – education and work and budget – of which she was a member. Otherwise, they would have a plenary vote to decide.
Republican House Leader Kevin McCarthy condemned Greene’s statements, but refused to punish the MP, saying everything happened before her election.
“I made it clear to Marjorie when we met [na terça-feira (2)] that as members of Congress we have a responsibility to maintain a higher standard than she was required to maintain as a citizen, ”said McCarthy.
Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida called her “mad or sadistic.”
Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell said Greene believed “crazy lies” which were “cancer” for the party.
Republican Senator Todd Young said the MP was “crazy” and “a shame.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she was “deeply concerned” by “the acceptance by Republicans of an extremist fan of conspiracy theories.”
Pelosi’s party then proposed to kick Greene out of the commissions. The measure only required a simple majority to pass.
Democratic Representative Jimmy Gomez has announced that he is drafting a resolution to expel Greene from the House of Representatives.
“His very presence in power poses a direct threat to elected officials and officials in the service of our government, and it is with his security in mind, as well as that of institutions and officials across the country, that I launch a call to the House and to my colleagues to support my resolution, ”he said.
What was Marjorie Taylor Greene’s reaction?
At first, Greene seemed to have concluded that the best way to defend himself would be to attack and released a statement saying that what was posted about his social media activities were ‘fake news’ attempts to silence a conservative voice. .
“Over the years, teams of people manage my pages,” she tweeted. “Many messages were appreciated. Many messages were shared. Some did not represent my opinions.”
On Monday, she said that if she were removed from both committees, a precedent would be set that could be used against Democrats when Republicans regain control of Congress after the 2022 election.
“And we’ll get the majority back, make no mistake about it,” he tweeted.
On Thursday (4), with the votes to expel him from upcoming commissions, Greene changed her tone and defended herself by saying some of the comments had been made before her candidacy.
She also said that she “stopped believing” in QAnon in 2018, after finding “disinformation, lies and things that were not true” in articles published by followers of the theory.
Greene said she was “upset by things” going on in the United States and did not trust the government when she discovered the conspiracy theories.
She even backtracked on comments in which she suggested school shootings had been staged. “They are absolutely real,” he said.
He also did this on an earlier claim that the 9/11 attack may not have happened. “I want to tell you that September 11 really happened,” she said. “I don’t think that’s wrong.”
“These are words from the past. These things don’t represent me,” she said.
But the MP did not address a series of earlier comments widely viewed as racist and inflammatory.
In 2019, she said Pelosi was “guilty of treason” and called it a “felony punishable by death”.
He also did not speak about the persecution of David Hogg or comment on past claims that the 2018 election triggered “an Islamic invasion of our government.”
The Republican also ignored repeating repeatedly that Trump was the real winner in the 2020 election.
Can Greene lose his tenure?
It seems unlikely that Gomez’s efforts to kick Greene out of Congress will succeed. Achieving the two-thirds majority necessary to do so would require significant support from Republicans in the House.
And even some Democrats may feel uncomfortable expelling a colleague for comments made before his election.
But the House has another option: to vote to censor Greene – a symbolic decision that only requires a simple majority.