Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.), a first-term member of Congress, has introduced a proposed censure of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), citing a long list of points of controversy surrounding the Georgia Republican, though the push is emerging not long after Greene controversially showed graphic photos of Hunter Biden during a House hearing. Balint’s proposal references this controversy.
Censure constitutes a formal rebuke from the House, and the measure is among the steepest forms of punishment that the legislative chamber can impose, though the House also holds the power to expel its members. Recently, the GOP majority in the chamber voted to censure Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) amid continuing outrage over his role in pushing claims of meaningful ties between the Trump team and the Russian interference efforts that were seen before the 2016 election. Also recently proposed in the House was the censure of Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) following allegedly anti-Semitic comments for which she apologized. The leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus had referred to Israel as a “racist state.”
“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 week as she unveiled her proposal. “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.”
Greene remains a close ally of former President Donald Trump, though she has experienced somewhat of a break with Republican colleagues of hers who are generally of a similar ideology. She was removed from the House Freedom Caucus, which is a far-right alliance in the House, amid frustrations with her support for Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and her well-publicized antagonism towards Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.).
Balint’s proposal, which received no cosponsors, was referred to the House Ethics Committee.
