The House on Thursday passed a resolution removing Republican Party Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from their assigned committees.
The final result of the vote was 230-199 and 11 Republicans voted in favor of the resolution: Representatives Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, John Katko of New York, Nicole Malliotakis of New York, Fred Upton of Michigan , Carlos Gimenez of Florida, Chris Jacobs of New York, Young Kim of California, Maria Salazar of Florida, Chris Smith of New Jersey and Mario Diaz Balart of Florida.
Greene, a supporter of Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud, has been condemned by Democrats and many Republicans for adopting numerous conspiracy theories in videos and social media activities before he took office this year.
In 2018 and 2019 CNN-reviewed posts and videos, Greene appeared to support violence against prominent Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and suggested that the Sandy Hook and Parkland shootings carried out operations. ” false flag “. They have since been removed.
The move to rip it off from the House Education and Work Committee, as well as the House Budget Committee, came after Republican leaders refused to withdraw it themselves after pressure from Democrats to do it. Thursday’s vote forced Republicans to record Greene’s conduct.
Greene defended himself in a speech before the vote and expressed regret for some of his past statements, which some considered to be too little, too late.
“They were words from the past and these things don’t represent me, they don’t represent my district, and they don’t represent my values,” Greene said of his past posts and social media interactions.
“I am more than grateful for this opportunity and I will explain why. I believe in God wholeheartedly, and I am very grateful to be humbled, to remember that I am a sinner and that Jesus died on the cross to forgive me – to forgive “My sins,” he said.
“It’s something I’m absolutely glad to tell you all today. I think it’s important that we all remember it, none of us is perfect. None of us is,” he said.
Greene also said he believes “9/11 absolutely happened” and that “the shootings at school are absolutely real and that all the kids who get lost, these families regret it.”
But he also tried to blame “canceling the culture” for his problems and the media for the way he has found himself, saying, “Big media companies can take small small words that I said, that you he has said, any of us, and he can portray us in someone we are not. “
Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, R-California, has previously condemned Greene’s past statements, but has stopped taking disciplinary action.
Pelosi told reporters Thursday that she is “deeply upset” that Republican leaders have decided to remove Greene from their committees.
“That’s so unfortunate,” he said. “I would think Republican leadership in Congress would have a certain sense of responsibility toward this institution.”
Pelosi also defended his party for acting against Greene and said it is because of Republican inaction that Democrats were advancing in the vote Thursday.
“If any of our members threatened the safety of other members, we would be the first to remove them from a committee,” Pelosi said. “This is.”
McCarthy met with Greene on Tuesday night for the work of his committees and even convened the GOP steering committee (which assigns committee seats) to discuss the issue. But in the end he decided not to take action.
McCarthy rejected Democrats’ requests for Greene to be removed from committees and blamed Democrats for rejecting his proposal to place her on the small business committee.
Greene has not denied making comments on social media or in recorded videos, but said other people had access to their accounts in a statement posted on Twitter.
Some Democrats have introduced measures to censor Greene in the House and even expel her from the House, which would be an extraordinary step that would require the support of about 70 House Republicans.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans have loudly criticized the first-year House member, and even McConnell issued a rare statement Monday that exploited his “false lies and theories. conspirators “.
While House Republicans have largely condemned Greene’s comments, some members have said they are reluctant to punish Greene for comments made before she was elected to serve in Congress.
Greene, who has faced intense criticism, apologized to members Wednesday night for supporting QAnon’s conspiracy theories and for his earlier comments about school traits during a private meeting throughout the conference during at night, according to sources. Some members of the chamber appreciated his expression of contrition for past positions.
According to a source in the room, the congresswoman received a standing ovation for about half of the conference.
He had previously said he would not apologize, and tweeted on Saturday, “I will not back down. I will never apologize. And I will always continue to fight for people.”
Despite private apologies to his colleagues, Greene has not apologized explicitly for his conduct publicly, although the bipartisan has asked him to do so.
Benjamin Siegel of ABC News contributed to this report.