11 Republicans voted with Democrats to strip far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of her committee assignments
- The House voted to strip Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of her committee assignments in a 230-199 vote.
- Eleven Republicans broke with the caucus to vote in favor of the resolution.
- Greene will effectively lose her seats on the Education and Labor Committee and the Budget Committee.
In a late-vote surprise, 11 Republicans broke with the caucus to vote in favor of stripping Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of her committee assignments on Thursday.
The 11 Republicans who voted in favor of the resolution are:
- Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois
- Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania
- Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan
- Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart of Florida
- Rep. Nicole Malliotakis of New York
- Rep. John Katko of New York
- Rep. Young Kim of California
- Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey
- Rep. Carlos Gimenez of Florida
- Rep. Chris Jacobs of New York
- Rep. Maria Salazar of Florida
According to Politico reporter Sarah Ferris, the Democratic whips were not expecting any Republicans to vote "yes" prior to the vote, though they were keeping an eye on Kinzinger and Upton as potential yeas.
Díaz-Balart, Gimenez, and Salazar all represent districts in South Florida, near the site of the 2018 mass shooting at a Parkland, Florida, high school. Greene previously called the attack a "false flag planned shooting" and suggested that a school security guard was paid to let the gunman carry out the attack. She also questioned and mocked survivors of the shooting, calling one an "idiot" and claiming he was "trained like a dog."
All three released statements following the vote condemning Greene while also calling on Democrats to review comments made by members of their own party.
"As I have repeatedly criticized Ilhan Omar for her anti-Semitic comments, I had to hold Marjorie Taylor Greene accountable for her denial of the Parkland Massacre, the Flight 77 crash, and accusing a Jewish family of starting the California wildfires," Salazar said.
Díaz-Balart also suggested Omar, as well as Rep. Maxine Waters and former Rep. Cynthia McKinney had made "inflammatory" comments.
"If MTG is being removed from her committee positions for her past inappropriate comments, then these members should've received the same treatment. I'll continue to demand that Democratic leadership & the press stop the double standard & hold these members equally accountable," Díaz-Balart said.
Giminez similarly called on Democrats to review past statements made by members, but emphasized that Greene's comments "must not be tolerated."
"When she goes after students, victims, and survivors of senseless gun violence as in the case of the Parkland High School shooting, she loses all credibility as someone assigned to crafting policies in protection of our children from violence," Giminez said.
Freshman lawmaker Malliotakis represents constituents in Staten Island - a group of people who would likely be unhappy about Greene's past support of conspiracy theories that suggested the terror attacks on 9/11 were staged by the US government.
In recent days Kinzinger has launched a political effort to push back against Republicans who embrace former President Donald Trump, the man Greene continues to claim as a friend and ally.
"The Republican Party has lost its way. If we are to lead again, we need to muster the courage to remember who we are," Kinzinger said in a video posted on the new Country First website.
Katko serves as Ranking Member on the House Homeland Security Committee and has previously acknowledged that right-wing extremism is a national threat.
As a result of the vote, Greene will effectively lose her seats on the House Education and Labor Committee and the Budget Committee.
The final vote was 230-199.