House Republicans weigh fate of Congresswomen Taylor Greene & Liz Cheney

The House will vote Thursday to strip Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of her committee assignments, forcing her GOP colleagues to take an on-the-record stance on the congresswoman who has expressed support for the QAnon conspiracy theory.

The vote on Greene, who has refused to publicly back down from unrelenting criticism over a laundry list of extreme remarks and conspiracy claims she made prior to taking office, marks an inflection point within the Republican Party as it struggles to define itself in the wake of Donald Trump’s presidency.

At a lengthy meeting Wednesday night, the House Republican caucus voted in a secret ballot on whether Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., should keep her leadership role after she voted to impeach Trump for inciting the deadly U.S. Capitol riot. Cheney survived the vote by a margin of 145-61, NBC News reported.

During the meeting, Greene, R-Ga., disavowed some of her most incendiary positions, NBC reported, including her support for the outlandish pro-Trump QAnon conspiracy and her reported suggestion that some school shootings had been staged. Greene’s speech at the meeting was met with applause, sources told NBC.

Greene also recently came under fire following a CNN report showing that she had liked on Facebook multiple comments in 2018 and 2019 calling for executing prominent Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

Media outlets also reported that Greene in 2018 had suggested that wildfires in California had perhaps been caused by laser beams.

In public, Greene has remained defiant, declaring Wednesday that “we owe them no apologies” and “we will never back down,” referring to criticism from Democrats and the media. She has also frequently touted a fundraising haul amid the furor.

Democrats demanded that Greene be kicked off the Education and Labor Committee and the Budget Committee, warning that they would take action if none was forthcoming from her own party.

Republicans had hoped to avoid a vote on the resolution. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., had proposed that the GOP strip Greene of her Education Committee assignment if she could remain on the Budget Committee, a source told NBC News. Democrats rejected that offer.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said Wednesday that after he spoke with McCarthy, “it is clear there is no alternative to holding a Floor vote on the resolution to remove Rep. Greene from her committee assignments.”

The resolution passed through the House Rules Committee after a hearing later that day, over the objections of Republican members who argued about process and warned that it set a dangerous precedent for a majority party to rescind a minority member’s committee placements.

Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern, D-Mass., countered that McCarthy was “unwilling or unable to do the right thing,” forcing Democrats to act.

“When a person encourages talk about shooting a member in the head, they should lose the right to serve on any committee,” McGovern said. “If this isn’t the bottom line, I don’t know where the hell the bottom line is.”

Turn to CNBC TV for the latest stock market news and analysis. From market futures to live price updates CNBC is the leader in business news worldwide.


Connect with CNBC News Online

#CNBC
#CNBCTV

[UnrealEntGaming]

Anyone else want to leave the planet and start our own society on Mars?

[mariewells]

Isn't threatening people's lives a crime?

[joeydacus]

When are the politicians finally gonna grow up ? This is a becoming such a joke

[kevinfreeman]

Two term limited need to be implemented in the house and senate. Tired of these career politicians on both sides. If people think politicians care about everyday Americans they need to wake up.

[zekefonseca]

Republican party is dead. Time for a 3rd party to step up

[ianhimmelstein]

Are they seriously trying to get rid of Liz Cheney just because she has morals

🤦

[jaimatony]

Remember the good old days when all a politician wanted was pork for his state

[eddydormilus]

I missed the days when we used to elect rational politicians.

[noeliamorales]

AMERICA, AMERICA, GOD BLA BLA BLA . WE'RE THE LAUGHING STOCK OF ALL THE WORLD

[Mozokuni]

She is the embodiment of what is wrong with the US.

[RP-wxhn]

We sacrificed four years
Well worth it
trump did it
He destroyed the republican party 🥳

[RGTomoenage]

She has every right to vote against trump!
That’s democracy!

[krissyhammouda]

When are Republicans going to stand up and take their party back. This is insane

[lydiasnead]

Republicans: Cheney needs to be removed from her leadership role because we disagree with the way she decided to vote!

Also Republicans: Removing Greene from her leadership role for her unhinged conspiracy theories and death threats against other members of congress is just a distraction!
🙄

[snoglydox]

A congressperson makes $174, 000.00 a year; if she can get elected, I'm moving to Georgia and running for office.

[rickyroo]

Republicans: We can't remove MTG because it's unethical

Also Republicans: Liz Cheney voted for impeachment. She has to go.

[alexanorussano]

ALL OF THIS... WILL BACKFIRE ON THEM...JUSTICE IS NOT ONE SIDED...JUSTICE WILL GET ANOTHER SIDE VERY SOON...

[Brocolisheep]

A conspiracy theorist - who denies Parkland of all things - has NO place in education. Get her out

[bananabread]

Good job Liz for voting the way you felt like was right instead of falling along party lines

[fooschmack]

Remember when Sarah Palin was considered the craziest person in politics?