House to vote to remove Marjorie Taylor Greene from committees

Ron Kampeas

(JTA) — The Democratic leadership will bring a motion to remove Marjorie Taylor Greene from committees in the U.S. House of Representatives.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer announced the vote, scheduled for Thursday, after the Republican minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, failed to act against the Georgia congresswoman who has peddled conspiracy theories and endorsed calls for violence against her colleagues. It would be rare if not unprecedented for one party to successfully force the removal of an opposing party member from committees.

Greene has come under increasing scrutiny in recent days for her embrace of a range of fantastical delusions, including the recent revelation that in 2018 she blamed the Rothschild family for starting forest fires in California through the use of a space-borne beam. She has also endorsed calls on social media for the killing of leading Democrats.

Green’s embrace of the QAnon movement, which includes anti-Semitic themes, prompted a number of Jewish and pro-Israel groups to call for her removal, including several that generally align with Republicans: the Republican Jewish Coalition, Christians United for Israel, and the National Council of Young Israel.

A number of leading Republicans have in recent days denounced her, but Greene has the backing of former President Donald Trump and many in the party fear alienating him and the considerable portion of the base that still backs him. Greene joined Trump in spurring the protesters who engaged in a violent assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.