House Democrats to take first steps to remove Marjorie Taylor Greene from committee assignments
House Democrats are set to take the first steps Wednesday to remove Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia from her committee assignments, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer announced, setting a possible floor vote on the issue Thursday.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, spoke ahead of Hoyer’s announcement.
“I spoke to Leader McCarthy this morning, and it is clear there is no alternative to holding a Floor vote on the resolution to remove Rep. Greene from her committee assignments,” Hoyer said in a statement. “The Rules Committee will meet this afternoon, and the House will vote on the resolution tomorrow.”
After McCarthy’s hours-long meeting with Greene on Tuesday night, GOP members are growing nervous that McCarthy’s lack of action could embolden fringe members in the conference, damage the party’s reputation and ultimately serve as a long-term distraction that will endanger their ability to win back the House in 2022.
A senior Republican House member, speaking on condition of background in order to freely discuss the ongoing going discussions, told CNN “if he doesn’t act, he’s going to continue to look indecisive.”
Another Republican member familiar with the process, had a more colorful assessment: “Either he has sh** the bed on this thing or he shows he’s going to get us through this. We have to deal with our own House. We have to clean up the mess in our own House.”
That member argued that if McCarthy doesn’t take decisive action, he will force his own Republican conference to walk the plank when Democrats force a resolution that would remove Greene of her committee assignments. It’s a tough vote and one that would force every single member to decide if they stand with Greene or not.
“It’s the job of leadership to protect our rank-and-file members,” the member said.
Still, McCarthy is walking a fine line, needing to strike a position on Greene that won’t alienate some of his most conservative members of the Republican conference, unleash the ire of former President Donald Trump or set a precedent that allows representatives to be pulled from committees for comments they made before they were in Congress.
One member argued that while Greene’s comments were “bat**** crazy,” she made them before she was in Congress and that makes it harder for McCarthy to act.
“We need to be thoughtful. I’d like to see her be a productive member of Congress,” the person said before adding “I don’t know if that is possible.”
When Greene was handed committee assignments weeks ago, the thinking among members and leadership was that it would provide the congresswoman a chance to prove she could do the work and move past her conspiracy-theory ridden past.
The thinking — before it was resurfaced that she’d harassed a Parkland survivor on Capitol Hill and argued the shooting was a false flag event — was that the House Committee on Education and Labor would put her under the tutelage of Rep. Virginia Foxx, a North Carolina Republican with a reputation for running a tight ship and standing up against colleagues who step out of line. Greene was then put on Budget where the top Republican, Rep. Jason Smith of Missouri, had a reputation for helping new members understand the intricacies of how Congress worked.
As more and more information about Greene’s past came out and as the congresswoman showed no remorse, the issue of keeping her on the committees appears to have become untenable.
Following his meeting with Greene on Tuesday, McCarthy summoned the powerful Steering Committee for a late-night meeting. The GOP steering panel can remove Republican House members from their committee posts, but two officials with direct knowledge of the meeting told CNN that the committee did not make a decision as of Tuesday night.
During his meeting with Greene, McCarthy asked if she would apologize for her past comments and views, which she did not agree to, a person with knowledge of the matter told CNN. Another person familiar with their conversation also said that McCarthy provided a slew of options to her, including that she could show remorse and apologize.
McCarthy and the steering committee also discussed other options, including forcing her off just the Education Committee but letting her stay on the Budget Committee, according to a person with knowledge of the talks.
Officials said the Steering Committee will meet again Wednesday to see if they can come to a decision. Greene did not meet with the panel.
In relaying how the meeting with Greene went, the two officials who spoke with CNN on Tuesday night said that McCarthy gave no indication that Greene showed any remorse or contrition for her comments.
This story has been updated with additional developments Wednesday.
