House votes to remove Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene from committee assignments

Image: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters(ABC News)

Image: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

(ABC News Washington, D.C. ) — The House approved a resolution Thursday that removes embattled GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from her assigned committees.

The final vote tally was 230-199 and 11 Republicans voted in support of the resolution: Reps. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, John Katko of New York, Nicole Malliotakis of New York, Fred Upton of Michigan, Carlos Gimenez of Florida, Chris Jacobs of New York, Young Kim of California, Maria Salazar of Florida, Chris Smith of New Jersey and Mario Diaz Balart of Florida.

Greene, a vocal supporter of Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of election fraud, has been condemned by Democrats and many Republicans for embracing numerous conspiracy theories in videos and social media activity before she took office this year.

In posts and videos from 2018 and 2019 reviewed by CNN, Greene appeared to endorse violence against prominent Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and suggested that the Sandy Hook and Parkland shootings were staged “false flag” operations. They have since been taken down.

The move to boot her from the House Education and Labor Committee, as well as the House Budget Committee, came after Republican leaders refused to remove her themselves following pressure from Democrats to do so. The vote Thursday forced Republicans to go on the record over Greene’s conduct.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer displays post of Marjorie Taylor Greene post holding a gun next to image of Democratic lawmakers.

“This is an AR-15 in the hands of Ms. Greene…Look at that image and tell me what message you think it sends.” https://t.co/431vljWkAg pic.twitter.com/U6v1S1QD1m

— ABC News (@ABC) February 4, 2021

Greene defended herself in a speech ahead of the vote and expressed regret over some of her past remarks — which some viewed as doing too little, too late.

“These were words of the past and these things do not represent me, they do not represent my district and they do not represent my values,” Greene said of her past posts and interactions on social media.

“I am beyond grateful for this opportunity, and I’ll tell you why. I believe in God with all my heart, and I am so grateful to be humbled, to be reminded that I’m a sinner, and that Jesus died on the cross to forgive me for — to forgive me for my sins,” she said.

“This is something I absolutely rejoice in today to tell you all. I think it’s important for all of us to remember, none of us are perfect. None of us are,” she said.

Greene also said that she believes “9/11 absolutely happened” and “school shootings are absolutely real and every child that is lost, those families mourn it.”

But she also attempted to blame “cancel culture” for her troubles and the media for how she’s come across, saying, “big media companies can take teeny, tiny pieces of words that I said, that you have said, any of us, and can portray us into someone that we’re not.”

Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has previously condemned Greene’s past remarks but stopped short of taking disciplinary action.

Pelosi told reporters Thursday she is “profoundly disturbed” that Republican leaders decided against removing Greene from her committees.

“That’s just so unfortunate,” she said. “You would think the Republican leadership in the Congress would have some sense of responsibility to this institution.”

Pelosi also defended her party for acting against Greene and said it’s because of Republican inaction that Democrats were moving ahead with the vote later Thursday.

“If any of our members threatened the safety of other members, we’d be the first ones to take them off a committee,” Pelosi said. “That’s it.”

Image: Shutterstock

McCarthy met with Greene Tuesday night over her committee assignments and even convened the GOP Steering Committee — which assigns committee seats — to discuss the issue. But in the end, he decided against taking action.

McCarthy rejected Democrats’ calls for Greene to be stripped from the committees and faulted Democrats for rejecting his proposal to instead place her on the Small Business Committee.

Greene has not denied making the comments on social media or in recorded videos but said other people had access to her accounts in a statement posted to Twitter.

Some Democrats have introduced measures to censure Greene on the House floor, and even expel her from the chamber, which would be an extraordinary step that would require the support of roughly 70 House Republicans.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans have loudly criticized the freshman House member, and McConnell even issued a rare statement Monday blasting her “loony lies and conspiracy theories.”

While House Republicans have largely condemned Greene’s comments, some members have said they are reluctant to punish Greene for comments made before she was elected to serve in Congress.