First-term Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.) is leading a resolution to censure Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) over her controversial comments and actions, with the most recent being the Georgia Republican displaying censored sexual images of the president’s son Hunter Biden in a hearing last week.
The resolution introduced Tuesday is a laundry list of around 40 points of grievance against Greene, many of which list her specific comments and the dates on which she said them.
In addition to Greene’s showing images of Hunter Biden, the resolution takes issue with Greene visiting Jan. 6 inmates in a Washington jail and calling it the “patriot wing,” calling Muslim members of Congress part of the “Jihad Squad,” and appearing at a white nationalist event — although Greene later said she had no idea the event was linked to white nationalism and condemned its leader. The resolution also cites Greene’s comparing COVID-19 vaccinations to Nazis forcing Jewish people to wear a star, along with other grievances.
“For me, censuring Rep. Taylor Greene is about the health of our democracy and faith in government. Her antisemitic, racist, transphobic rhetoric has no place in the House of Representatives,” Balint said in a statement.
“I ran for Congress after watching on January 6th that anti-democratic messages and fear-mongering have real consequences for our democracy. Unserious elected officials like Taylor Greene make a mockery of our democratic institutions and derail us from the urgent work we’ve been tasked with,” Balint said. “This job is about alleviating suffering and supporting our communities, and instead Taylor Greene uses her position as a megaphone for conspiracy theories and hate speech. There must be a counterforce that comes from within Congress. It begins with principled members standing up and saying we have had enough.”
The resolution was introduced as privileged, Balint’s office said, meaning that she can make a privileged motion in the future to force floor action on the measure. There is not yet any plan for Balint to make a privileged motion to force a vote.
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Greene brushed off the resolution shortly after its introduction Tuesday.
“I don’t know who this freshman Democrat is. They must have terrible fundraising numbers because they’re pulling some ridiculous stunt,” Greene said. “Looks like four pages of slander, because I looked at the first few lines and I was like, ‘That’s not even true.’”
“I could care less,” Greene added.
Greene has been reprimanded by Democrats in the past, but not officially censured by the House. When Democrats controlled the House in 2021, Greene was stripped of her committee assignments soon after being sworn into office as punishment for her posts about conspiracy theories and liking a Facebook comment that called for the assassination of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Balint mentioned that in her resolution.
Greene’s display of sexual images of Hunter Biden in a committee hearing also prompted an ethics complaint from Biden’s attorney last week.
Introducing the resolution as privileged adds to a trend of lawmakers introducing censure resolutions against each other and making privileged motions.
Last week, a group of Democrats introduced a privileged resolution to censure Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), who has been charged with financial crimes. And last month, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) forced a vote on her resolution to censure Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) over his role in investigating former President Donald Trump.
–Updated on July 26 at 9:19 a.m.