According to CNN reporter Manu Raju, Democrats in the House have been discussing the possibility of removing Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) from his committee assignments in response to a violent video that he posted targeting Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). The edited, partly animated video depicted Gosar murdering Ocasio-Cortez, and it also showed the Arizona Congressman swinging weapons at President Joe Biden. Gosar pushed back on criticism of the video, claiming that he doesn’t “espouse violence or harm towards any Member of Congress or Mr. Biden” — although such violence is, quite literally, what the video showed.
Raju, meanwhile, reported as follows:
‘Dems are in discussions about punishing Rep. Paul Gosar this week over the violent video he tweeted, with censuring him a leading option, per sources. But there’s also talk about stripping him from his committee assignments, according to a source, and conversations are continuing.’
Dems are in discussions about punishing Rep. Paul Gosar this week over the violent video he tweeted, with censuring him a leading option, per sources. But there’s also talk about stripping him from his committee assignments, according to a source, and conversations are continuing
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) November 16, 2021
There is a recent precedent for removing a Republican from their committee assignments in the House — the chamber took that step against Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) after past social media activity resurfaced showing previous support on the Congresswoman’s part for executing prominent Democrats. Since getting booted from her committee spots, Greene has occupied herself with stunts like repeatedly showing up to the D.C. jail where Capitol rioters are being held, where she’s sought to make a scene on their behalf. The theatrics were far from necessary, though — prominent Democrats, for instance, spoke out against the usage of solitary confinement for Capitol rioters without standing outside the jail with a camera crew and bickering with staff.
The response to Gosar’s video from within the GOP has been tepid, to say the least, although Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) did say that he’d likely support a censure resolution targeting Gosar. A group of Democrats have already gathered behind such a resolution, which constitutes a formal rebuke by the House. As explained by a House webpage, censure “registers the House’s deep disapproval of Member misconduct that, nevertheless, does not meet the threshold for expulsion.” Then, “Once the House approves the sanction by majority vote, the censured Member must stand in the well of the House… while the Speaker or presiding officer reads aloud the censure resolution and its preamble as a form of public rebuke,” per that same webpage.
