House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy slammed conspiracy theorist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) in a statement on Wednesday afternoon, saying that Greene’s incendiary remarks do not represent the party and that the party condemns QAnon.
The statement from McCarthy comes as Democrats seek to remove Greene from her committee assignments over a string of controversial remarks that she has made.
McCarthy’s remarks come as Democrats and the media have sought to use Greene to weigh down the Republican Party by making her the face of the party and by trying to tie her fringe views and statements to the party.
McCarthy said:
Past comments from and endorsed by Marjorie Taylor Greene on school shootings, political violence, and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories do not represent the values or beliefs of the House Republican Conference. I condemn those comments unequivocally. I condemned them in the past. I continue to condemn them today. This House condemned QAnon last Congress and continues to do so today.
I made this clear to Marjorie when we met. I also made clear that as a member of Congress we have a responsibility to hold ourselves to a higher standard than how she presented herself as a private citizen. Her past comments now have much greater meaning. Marjorie recognized this in our conversation. I hold her to her word, as well as her actions going forward.
I understand that Marjorie’s comments have caused deep wounds to many and as a result, I offered Majority Leader Hoyer a path to lower the temperature and address these concerns. Instead of coming together to do that, the Democrats are choosing to raise the temperature by taking the unprecedented step to further their partisan power grab regarding the committee assignments of the other party.
Nowhere in McCarthy’s statement did he say that Republicans would not remove Greene from her committee assignments.
McCarthy further noted that Democrats were happy to go after Greene for her remarks, most of which were made before she entered office, while they continued to back members of their own party who have engaged in controversial behavior.
“While Democrats pursue a resolution on Congresswoman Greene, they continue to do nothing about Democrats serving on the Foreign Affairs Committee who have spread anti-Semitic tropes, Democrats on the House Intelligence and Homeland Security Committee compromised by Chinese spies, or the Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee who advocated for violence against public servants,” McCarthy said. “In the end, this resolution continues to distract Congress, especially given the limited time that Speaker Pelosi and the Democrat leadership want the House to debate and work, on what it needs to focus on: getting Americans back to work, getting kids back to school, and providing vaccines to all Americans who need it.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) also slammed Greene this week, saying on the Senate floor that her “loony lies and conspiracy theories” were a “cancer for the Republican Party.”
“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,” McConnell said. “This has nothing to do with the challenges facing American families or the robust debates on substance that can strengthen our party.”