Even so, the episode sparked deep divisions among Republicans over how to move forward as a party. In the days leading up to the vote on Ms. Greene, Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, the most powerful Republican in Washington, denounced what he called “crazy lies” and claimed that such conspiracy theories were a “cancer” in the world party. Several other senior Republican senators had joined him in denouncing Ms. Greene and saying she could not become the face of the party.
To warn Democrats about the move, House Republicans tabled their own proposal to remove Minnesota Democrat Ilhan Omar from the foreign affairs committee. She cited comments, including that Israel “hypnotized” the world for their “evil deeds.” “Ms. Omar publicly apologized for these comments, which were charged with anti-Semitism.
“If this is the new standard, I look forward to continuing the standard,” McCarthy said, adding that Republicans have a “long list” of Democrats to remove from their committees.
On Wednesday, after Democrats announced they would reprimand Ms. Greene, Mr McCarthy made a long, tortured statement condemning her comments, saying they had no place among Republicans in the House but argued that they did didn’t deserve to be punished for you. Moving on Wednesday night after the controversial, hour-long Republican meeting, he told reporters that Ms. Greene had privately apologized for her earlier remarks and suggested that it was time to move on.
“She said she knew nothing about lasers or all the different things that were raised about her,” McCarthy said, apparently referring to a Facebook post Ms. Greene wrote in 2018 that indicated devastating wildfires were happening in California a space lasers controlled by a prominent Jewish banking family with ties to powerful democrats.
“Now if we are to judge what other members have said before they are members of Congress, I think it will be difficult for Democrats to get someone on the committee,” he added.
According to Eleanor Neff Powell, professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, dismissal from committees is usually reserved for lawmakers on trial, criminal investigation, or otherwise in particularly outrageous ways with their party.
