WASHINGTON — A group of House Democrats introduced a resolution Monday to remove Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., from her two committee assignments as a consequence for her inflammatory and false statements.
The resolution, sponsored by Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Ted Deutch, both of Florida, and Jahana Hayes of Connecticut, would remove Greene from the House Education & Labor Committee and the House Budget Committee.
The Rules Committee said it would consider the resolution on Wednesday afternoon, the first step in getting it to a vote on the floor.
Greene, a freshman congresswoman, came under scrutiny last week over past remarks, including ones suggesting that school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, and Parkland, Florida, were staged, as well as her claim that the 2018 California wildfires were started by "Jewish space lasers."
“Reducing the future harm that she can cause in Congress, and denying her a seat at committee tables where fact-based policies will be drafted, is both a suitable punishment and a proper restraint of her influence,” Wasserman Schultz said during a virtual news conference.
“If Republicans won't police their own, the House must step in,” she continued, adding that Greene could resign but noted that’s unlikely and the chances of expulsion are slim because it would require a two-thirds vote in the House.
Wasserman Schultz, whose district is near Parkland, said that if Greene "cannot be entrusted to make education and budget policy" if she is unwilling to accept the reality of mass school shootings.
Deutch represents Parkland and said during the news conference that this is a “line-in-the-sand moment for the Republican Party” and that “the question, quite simply, is whether they will draw the line when a member of the Republican caucus moves far beyond political rhetoric and into what is extremely dangerous misinformation, deeply offensive harassment and the refusal to acknowledge truth."
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, lambasted Greene in a statement later Monday.
"Loony lies and conspiracy theories are cancer for the Republican Party and our country," he said. "Somebody who’s suggested that perhaps no airplane hit the Pentagon on 9/11, that horrifying school shootings were pre-staged, and that the Clintons crashed JFK Jr.’s airplane is not living in reality. This has nothing to do with the challenges facing American families or the robust debates on substance that can strengthen our party."
Both of Florida's Republican senators have also criticized Greene's Parkland remarks, with Sen. Marco Rubio saying last week that "anyone suggesting it was fake is either deranged or a sadist.” A spokesman for Sen. Rick Scott said Monday that her comments are "disgusting and wrong."
While Greene has not apologized for her previous remarks, she has made an effort to walk them back in recent days. Linda Beigel Schulman, whose son, Scott Beigel, was one of 17 people killed in the Parkland attack, told MSNBC on Sunday that she'd spoken to Greene, and the congresswoman told her that despite her earlier comments, she does not believe the Parkland or Sandy Hook shootings were false flag events or that they had been staged.
In an interview with OAN on Monday, Greene defended a video that showed her harassing Parkland survivor David Hogg, but said the shootings "are not fake, and it’s terrible the loss that these families go through and their friends as well."
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., is expected to speak to Greene this week, but it’s unclear if the party will take any action against her. A source told NBC News that House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer spoke with McCarthy on Monday to tell him he needed to take action on Greene.
"It is my hope and expectation that Republicans will do the right thing and hold Rep. Greene accountable, and we will not need to consider this resolution," Hoyer said in a statement Monday. "But we are prepared to do so if necessary."
Greene later Monday lashed out at Democrats over the effort.
In the OAN interview, Greene pointed to one Republican who is in her corner - former President Donald Trump, who she said she plans to visit "soon." "Great news is, he supports me 100 percent, and I've always supported him," she said.
