Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) appeared this weekend for a discussion with Alex Jones — the far-right conspiracy theorist who has infamously faced a tidal wave of legal trouble for his role in helping spread delusional conspiracy theories about the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012.
Greene had some conspiracy theories of her own during the discussion, suggesting, for instance, that some of the calamitous weather events recently seen in Nevada at the site of the Burning Man event this year were some kind of message from God. She also warned of some imagined scenario in which the tens of thousands facing these dangerous weather conditions were being primed to spread supposed propaganda around climate change. The implications, though, are clear. Greene is a member of Congress, and she was appearing with someone who was outside the Capitol on January 6 as rioters massed. (Jones has not been criminally charged in connection with the day’s violent events.)
“We’re in a timeline where a representative sits with Alex Jones,” Denver Riggleman, a Republican and former member of Congress himself, said online. “No person with self-respect or living in a reality based world would condemn themselves to the status of conspiratorial charlatan spouting God punishments. Marjorie Taylor Greene is insane & votes on federal bills.”
Well, among Greene’s latest ambitions is to not vote on certain federal legislation unless she gets her way. She has laid out a series of prerequisites before she supports any government funding, which Congress will need to swiftly consider in the coming weeks to avert the possibility of a shutdown.
Republicans and some Democrats can pass government funding with or without Greene… though her stance could possibly point towards other Republicans taking much the same approach in the future, which could lead party leadership to acquiesce to their demands, potentially creating a problem considering the Democrats who wouldn’t support some of this stuff. Greene wants the approval of an impeachment inquiry targeting Biden, the elimination of funding for Special Counsel Jack Smith, and what could entail the end of U.S. support for Ukraine as that country fights off Russia’s invasion.
