Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene was stripped of two high-profile committee assignments in US Congress after a Democratic-led motion seeking to punish her was passed on Thursday. The first-term Republican congresswoman from Georgia was punished for allegedly incendiary remarks against the Democrats.
However, nearly 95 percent of Republicans voted to oppose the punishment. Greene, 46, had earlier expressed regret for remarks, which were made before she became a Congress member.
The resolution was passed 230-199 as 11 Republicans joined the Democrats. In keeping with the resolution, Greene has been stripped of her seats on the House Budget Committee and the House Education and Labor Committee.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Greene, a Trump-supporter, had expressed support for political violence. "I have never encountered a situation like the one before us now, where a member has made such vile and hurtful statements, engaged in the harassment of colleagues and expressed support for political violence," Hoyer said. "This is not about party. It's about whether or not you will vote for decency and truth," he added, according to Reuters.
Meanwhile, Republicans mostly closed ranks against the Democratic move, saying it signaled a "partisan power grab" by the majority side. The GoP said the Democrats would set a bad precedent by punishing a lawmaker for what she said before she was elected to the House.
Pelosi Accused of Hypocrisy
The Republicans also attacked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for not taking similar action against Democrats who made controversial remarks. "You'll regret this ... If people are held to what they have said prior to even being in this House, if the majority gets to decide who sits on ... committees, I hope you keep that standard, because we have a long list," said Kevin McCarthy, House Republican leader.
Before the vote took place in the House, made a statement in which she retracted some of her controversial statements. "These were words of the past and these things do not represent me, they do not represent my (congressional) district and they do not represent my values," she said.
Acrimonious Political Atmosphere
"I was allowed to believe things that weren't true, and I would ask questions about them and talk about them. And that is absolutely what I regret," said Greene. Among her controversial statements was the claim that President Trump won the Nov. 3 election. She had also said some of the school shootings were staged.
However, she said on Thursday the school shootings really happened and that she was wrong with the QAnon conspiracy theories. "Will we allow the media that is just as guilty as QAnon of presenting truth and lies to divide us?" she asked.
