House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) warned Democrats they will soon regret abusing their majority power to strip Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) from her committee assignments.
On Thursday, the Democrat-led House removed Greene from her House committees with a vote of 230 to 199, which included 11 quisling Republicans. This was punishment for Greene’s social media postings as a private citizen after they became fodder at left-wing outlets like CNNLOL. Greene subsequently apologized for these posts, which prompted McCarthy to defend her staying on those committees. Unfortunately, it wasn’t up to him.
Democrats are out for blood and bum-rushed her, something that, according to McCarthy, has never happened before.
“Never before in the history of this House, has the majority abused its power in this way. Never in the entire history of this House have you ever abused the power in this way,” McCarthy said Thursday in a House speech just before the vote.
After again condemning Greene’s social media posts “as a private citizen” and reminding House members she “apologized for her past comments,” McCarthy dropped a warning to Democrats about how this precedent will come back to haunt them.
Someday, McCarthy warned, the GOP will control the House, and there is an endless supply of Democrat representatives who have not only said things far worse than Greene ever did, but have said it as a sitting member of the House: “If this is the new standard, I look forward to continuing out the standard because if you look for a side that has a leadership that’s done something when their members do something as a member, not prior, look to me because I did just that.
Referring to antisemitic Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), he said:
But when a Democrat freshmen said “Israel has hypnotized the world,” that supporting Israel is “all about the Benjamins,” and that 9/11 “some people did something,” did Speaker Pelosi kick her off Foreign Affairs Committee? Or did she keep her on the committee and even pose with her on the cover of a magazine? Will the standard change?
Referring to Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), he said:
When another Democrat was compromised by a Chinese spy, that it was so serious that the FBI had to brief the congressional leaders, did Speaker Pelosi remove him from the House Intelligence or Homeland Security Committees after the briefing? … Or did she reward him by making him the head of the subcommittee overseeing the CIA? I guess there’s different standards.
Referring to Rep. Jim McGovern (D-AL), he added, “When the chairman of the Rules Committee objected to certifying the 2016 election, citing Russian interference, did Speaker Pelosi censure him?”
Referring to Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), he said:
How about when the chairwoman the Financial Services Committee told supporters at a rally in 2017 — she was a member then, unlike the person we’re talking about today — “If you see anyone from the cabinet, in a restaurant, in a department store, at gasoline station, you get out, you create a crowd, you push back on them, and you tell them they’re not welcome anywhere, anywhere, with anyone anymore.” After she called for violence against public servants, did Speaker Pelosi condemn it? Or did she look the other way and make her chairwoman again?
“When Democrats attack Congresswoman Greene, they not only ignore the infractions within their own party, they reward these members with prestige and influence,” he added.
He then reminded Democrats of the last time they voted to violate a long-held congressional norm. “I would remind them of what [Senate Majority] Leader [Mitch] McConnell (R-KY) said when Democrats voted to nuke the judicial filibuster: ‘You’ll regret this, and you may regret this a lot sooner than you think.’”
What McCarthy is telling Democrats is that once Republicans assume the majority in the House, which is very likely to happen in the upcoming 2022 midterms, they will be held to this shiny, brand new standard they just created, this new norm.
Now, we just have to hope the GOP actually has the moral courage to follow through, that they actually have the stones to remove Omar and Waters and Swalwell and McGovern from their committee assignments.
I’m not holding my breath.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC. Follow his Facebook Page here.
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