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Last week, Greene was officially given seats on the House Education and Labor Committee and the House Budget Committee.
Republicans, meanwhile, have been slow to act, with McCarthy saying he only plans to have a “talk” with Greene sometime this week about the mounting controversies. The meeting between McCarthy and Greene is still not planned, but could already take place on Tuesday evening.
And Greene has shown no remorse for her past actions, tweeting over the weekend that she “will never apologize.” She also took a jab at Hoyer on Twitter on Monday, revealing plans to travel to Florida “ soon ” to meet with former President Donald Trump, who she said supports her “ 100 percent. ”
Democrats are already on possible floor action if McCarthy doesn’t act, planning a rules committee hearing Wednesday afternoon on a resolution to rid Greene of her committee posts.
Some Republicans are personally warning of a dangerous new precedent if Democrats decide which of the minority party is best suited to serve on committees, opening the potential for a tit-for-tat between the two parties – especially if Republicans reclaim the house in two years. But while Democrats privately acknowledge their action is controversial, they say Greene’s behavior and rhetoric must be vigorously addressed.
“The resolution introduced on today’s pro forma would remove Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from her committee duties,” Hoyer said in a statement. “It is my hope and expectation that the Republicans will do the right thing and hold Rep. Greene accountable, and we do not need to consider this resolution. But we are willing to do so if we need to.”
During a leadership call on Sunday, Hoyer, Pelosi and other top Democrats discussed several options for taking action against Greene, including censure, expulsion, and the resolution written by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) Who is considering the Rules Panel on Wednesday. .
“We are focused on making sure that we can make the poisonous nature of this member powerless,” Wasserman Schultz told reporters on Monday, just before introducing her measure. “The House must be able to take measures to control its own members.”
A growing number of House Democrats say they are determined to punish Greene for her rhetoric and have put in place a slew of measures to do this. That includes two of the toughest sanctions that can be taken against a member of Congress: formal censure and expulsion from the House.
Democrats do not rule out further action, saying this week’s move could be a first step.
The attempt to force McCarthy’s hand creates even more of a conundrum for the California Republican, who is under increasing pressure from Democrats and some GOP-affiliated groups to take action against Greene, but may be reluctant to push the Trump wing of the party to alienate. The GOP leader, desperate to keep his ranks united, even went to Mar-a-Lago last week to make amends with the former president.
If McCarthy refuses to deal with Greene internally and Democrats do indeed bring this issue to the surface, it will force any Republican to speak up about Greene – a scenario that could put some GOP lawmakers in a difficult position.
And over the weekend, Greene also claimed she spoke to Trump during the firestorm and has his full support. She followed that up on Monday by telling One America News that she plans to visit Trump in Florida soon. That could make it even more difficult for GOP leaders to punish Greene. In addition, Greene is being investigated for comments she made before her time in Congress, making it harder to punish her.
Still, McCarthy’s allies insist that he has not decided how to proceed and is not giving in to the pressure of the Democrats. Whether or not he decides to discipline Greene depends on how their sit-down conversation unfolds later this week, with McCarthy determined to do what he thinks is best for his conference.
McCarthy had a similar face-to-face meeting with former Representative Steve King in 2019 after wondering why the term white nationalism was so offensive in an interview with The New York Times. The Iowa Republican showed little remorse during their interaction, and shortly afterward McCarthy King laughed out of his committees – a move the California Republican likes to praise when stifling his willingness to hold his own members to account.
Many Democrats are saying publicly and privately that they don’t expect McCarthy to take action and have prepared their own options. Greene, meanwhile, has remained publicly defiant, though she has scrubbed some of her past social media posts.
“If we wait for Kevin McCarthy to have a moral compass … that will never happen,” said Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.), Who represents the scene of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, to reporters. House law demanded that Greene be stripped of all committee positions.
Hayes said Greene has “forfeited her right” to participate in a House panel, specifically the Education Committee. “Her raise in the party is dangerous.”