Pelosi slams Republicans for appointing Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has endorsed conspiracy theories about school shootings, to the House Education and Labor Committee

• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi slammed GOP leadership over a controversial freshman lawmaker, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, and her history of spreading conspiracy theories.
• Greene has faced backlash this week for past comments she's made baselessly suggesting that school shootings are staged.
• "What could they be thinking? Or is thinking too generous a word for what they might be doing? It's absolutely appalling," Pelosi said of the Republicans who appointed Greene to serve on the House Education and Labor Committee.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday ripped into top Republicans over a controversial lawmaker in their party, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, and her history of pushing conspiracy theories.

"What I'm concerned about is the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives who are willing to overlook, ignore those statements," Pelosi said during a news conference.

Greene, a freshman Republican, has faced backlash this week over her past social media activity in which she spread baseless claims about school shootings.

Among the controversial activity includes Greene "liking" a Facebook post that called the 2018 mass shooting at a Florida high school a "false flag planned shooting," as well as suggesting in a 2017 video that the Las Vegas music festival shooting, which killed 58 people, was set up by activists to promote gun control. Greene also "liked" a Facebook comment that described the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting, which killed 20 children, as staged.

In another newly resurfaced video, Greene is seen following school-shooting survivor David Hogg on Capitol Hill after the 2018 attack and calling him a "coward."

Pelosi blasted her Republican counterparts for selecting Greene to serve on the House Education and Labor Committee, which is responsible for overseeing school safety.

"Assigning her to the Education Committee when she has mocked the killing of little children at Sandy Hook elementary school, when she has mocked the killing of teenagers in high school, at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school," Pelosi said. "What could they be thinking? Or is thinking too generous a word for what they might be doing? It's absolutely appalling."

"To have someone who would mock, call it a fake," Pelosi continued, "It's really beyond the pale."

The top Democrat's comments echo Education Committee chair Bobby Scott's statement on Thursday.

"House Republicans made this appointment and Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy must explain how someone with this background represents the Republican party on education issues," Scott said. "He is sending a clear message to students, parents, and educators about the views of the Republican party."

A spokesperson for McCarthy told Axios earlier this week that the GOP leader plans to have a "conversation" with Greene after other social media posts of her showing support for assassinating top Democrats, including Pelosi, were revealed. One Democratic lawmaker, Rep. Jimmy Gomez, has called for Greene to be kicked out of Congress.

Greene's past of incendiary comments was known before she held public office. Last summer, Politico reported a slew of racist and Islamophobic statements Greene made online.

The Georgia lawmaker defended herself this week claiming that her posts were not solely controlled by her.

"Over the years, I've had teams of people manage my pages. Many posts have been liked. Many posts have been shared. Some did not represent my views," Greene said.