Freshman U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has faced widespread opprobrium in recent days over her previous statements and social media posts, which reflect her belief in fringe conspiracy theories.
Nevertheless, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy made it clear in a statement on Wednesday that House GOP leadership would not discipline her or strip her committee assignments as many critics had recommended.
“I continue to condemn them today”
McCarthy has previously denounced Greene’s propagation of QAnon narratives and other extreme theories — and he maintained that level of disapproval in his latest statement on the matter.
“Past comments from and endorsed by Marjorie Taylor Greene on school shootings, political violence, and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories do not represent the values or beliefs of the House Republican Conference,” the statement read. “I condemn those comments unequivocally. I condemned them in the past. I continue to condemn them today. This House condemned QAnon last Congress and continues to do so today.”
The top House Republican informed his party’s caucus in a recent meeting that he spoke to Greene about the views she espoused before she was elected to Congress.
She reportedly acknowledged during that conversation that her past comments did not meet the standard expected of an elected official.
Among other controversial positions she has defended online, Greene has suggested that school shootings were staged events, and video footage recently surfaced that appears to show her follow and harass Stoneman Douglas High School shooting survivor David Hogg.
“To hold ourselves to a higher standard”
McCarthy explained in his statement that he “made clear that as a member of Congress we have a responsibility to hold ourselves to a higher standard than how she presented herself as a private citizen.”
He said that the congresswoman “recognized this in our conversation” and that he plans to “hold her to her word, as well as her actions going forward.”
In an apology to her Republican colleagues on Wednesday, Greene reportedly acknowledged being “curious” about QAnon and said that she learned a lesson about what to share online.
The House is set to vote on a motion to remove Greene from her posts on both the Education and Labor Committee and the Budget Panel. A proposed deal to remove her from the former without stripping her of the latter position was reportedly rejected by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD).
Some Republican leaders have suggested that if Greene is removed because of supposedly harmful views, Democrats deserve the same scrutiny — including Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), who has faced backlash for a variety of statements deemed antisemitic.
The post McCarthy declines to discipline Rep. Greene over controversial views first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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