MTG and George Santos are co-sponsoring a bill that could ban LGBTQ books in classrooms

• Marjorie Taylor Greene and George Santos are co-sponsoring a bill banning some books in schools.
• It aims to end "sexualization of children," echoing bills restricting access to LGBTQ material.

Rep. George Santos and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene are co-sponsoring a bill that aims to remove "sexually explicit material" from schools, and would likely encompass a ban on LGBTQ material.

The bill, HR863, was introduced last week by Rep. Cory Mills of Florida and aims to "end the sexualization of children in schools."

It is co-sponsored by seven lawmakers from the GOP's hard right congressional faction, among them Greene and Santos, and was first reported by LGBTQ Nation.

The full text of the bill has not yet been published, but a description of it on the US Congress website says it seeks to "prohibit a publishing house from knowingly furnishing sexually explicit material to a school or an educational agency, to prohibit Federal funds from being provided to a school that obtains or an educational agency that distributes sexually explicit material, and for other purposes."

The Republican far-right in recent months has rallied around a so-called "anti-groomer" campaign aimed at ending the "sexualization" of children.

The Anti-Defamation League says the campaign is mainly aimed at demonizing the LGBTQ community, and falsely characterizing LGBTQ educational material as "pedophilic."

As part of the campaign, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last year signed the so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill, restricting the teaching of LGBTQ issues in schools. His press secretary, Christina Pushaw, at the time labelled it the "anti-groomer bill."

Santos is one 10 LGBTQ members of Congress and the only Republican LGBTQ member. He has positioned himself as a hardline conservative on many issues, yet reports say he once competed in a drag queen contest in Brazil.

He is a supporters of DeSantis' "Don't Say Gay" bill, and defended his position in an interview with USA Today last year, saying he'd "always be an advocate for LGBTQ folks."

He is currently battling a series of revelations that he fabricated swaths of his career and personal history before his election last year to represent a New York congressional district.

Greene, a Georgia Republican, is one of the most high-profile members of the far-right congressional faction that Santos has aligned himself with since entering Congress, and has aggressively pushed "anti-groomer" rhetoric.

Greene recently labelled San Francisco state Sen. Scott Wiener, who is openly gay, a "communist groomer" over his criticism of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.

The bill has attracted a relatively small number of sponsors, and will have to overcome several hurdles if it is to become law.