Tennessee’s Rep. Cooper backs censure, expulsion of Rep. Greene
NASHVILLE — U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Nashville, says he has joined fellow congressional Democrats to request that freshman U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Northwest Georgia be removed from the House Education and Labor Committee and also be formally censured.
The Nashville congressman also said in his tweet that he is co-sponsoring a yet-to-be introduced bill that seeks to expel Greene from the House.
“She’s a danger to the House & to the country,” Cooper wrote.
Greene’s social media activity supporting violence and conspiracy theories has gained national attention. She was elected Nov. 3 to represent Walker, Catoosa, Dade and Whitfield counties.
Greene tweeted on Tuesday: “I’m the Democrat mob’s public enemy No. 1. Let’s send a message to the mob. I’ve set a goal of raising $50,000 today to make sure I can defend my seat.”
Not long after that, the Rome businesswoman was out with a new tweet stating, “We’re over $50,000!!! My supporters are incredible. Thank you so much. We’re not done yet, though. New goal: $75,000.”
Spokespeople for U.S. Reps. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Ooltewah, and Scott DesJarlais, R-South Pittsburg, whose districts border parts of Greene’s district, either had no comment or could not be reached for comment about Greene.
Freshman U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Ga., who represents much of Atlanta, has said she and U.S. Rep. Sara Jacobswill, D-Calif., will introduce legislation this week to formally censure Greene, accusing Greene in some of her past remarks of “supporting the assassination of current and former elected officials.”
“It would be irresponsible for us to allow her to use the ‘people’s house’ as a platform to peddle discredited conspiracy theories that only fan the flames of hatred and violence,” Williams said in a statement. “This is the same rhetoric that provoked the lawlessness we saw during the Jan. 6 domestic terrorist attack. We must do everything we can to prevent similar events from occurring ever again.”
The Jan. 6 date was a reference to supporters of then-President Donald Trump storming the U.S. Capitol as representatives and senators were voting to certify results of the 2020 election and declare Democrat Joe Biden the winner. Five people died in the ensuing mayhem.
Greene, a staunch Trump supporter, tweeted “the people of NW Georgia sent me to Washington to represent them. Why do DC Democrats think they are more important than the people of the 14th District? A few social media posts before I ran for Congress aren’t anything like sleeping with a Chinese spy *while in Congress.*”
Her comment was an apparent reference to an Axios report in late 2020 that suspected female intelligence operative Christine Fang had targeted local and national politicians, among them U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., from 2011 into 2015.
Axios reported that U.S. officials alerted Swalwell to their concerns in what was described as a defensive briefing. His office later said he had met the person more than eight years earlier, had not seen her in nearly six years and provided information to the FBI. Congressional Republicans demanded Swalwell be removed from the House intelligence committee.
Congressional Democrats have similarly suggested removing Greene from the House education committee over her comments on school shootings.
Prior to taking office, Greene made comments on social media indicating support for QAnon, the baseless belief Trump was fighting a cabal of Satanist child-molesting Democrats and “deep-state” bureaucrats seeking global control.
CNN reported she liked Facebook posts calling for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to be executed. And on several past occasions, Greene had questioned whether a number of mass shootings had been staged. Greene later began distancing herself from some of her previous statements.
On Monday, U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky criticized Greene while avoiding mentioning her name, saying her “loony lies” are a “cancer” on Republicans.
Despite the controversies, Greene’s supporters have stood by her.