WASHINGTON – Member’s “false eyelashes” and criticism of someone else’s intelligence. Question regarding a member’s discussion of “bleached blonde, badly built butch body”.
Thursday night’s House Oversight Committee hearing, which was supposed to center around a resolution recommending Attorney General Merrick Garland, descended into chaos amid personal attacks and partisan bickering. treated with disrespect Congress.
The already tense hearing broke down when U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, D-Texas, responded to a question from Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas: “I think your false eyelashes are confusing what you’re reading. .”
Democrats, led by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., immediately moved to remove Greene’s remarks from the record and force her to apologize to Crockett.
“This is completely unacceptable,” Ocasio-Cortez said during cross-examination. “How do you attack another person’s physical appearance?”
Greene mocked Ocasio-Cortez, asking, “Are your feelings hurt?”
“Oh, a girl? A baby girl,” Ocasio-Cortez responded. “Don’t play at all.”
Greene attacked the second member moments after criticizing Crockett, saying Ocasio-Cortez didn’t have “enough intelligence” to debate.
Greene asked Ocasio-Cortez, “Why don’t you argue with me?”
The New York congressman replied that he thought it was “pretty clear.”
“You don’t have enough intelligence,” Green said, as members of Congress audibly groaned at the Georgia lawmaker’s attack.
Greene agreed to hit Crockett with his comments, but vehemently refused to apologize for the evening’s attacks, saying, “I will never apologize.”
Amid repeated demands from Democrats to strike Greene from the record and force him to apologize, Comer ultimately ruled that Greene’s insult to Crockett did not violate House rules not to engage in “personalities” during the debate. Democratic Ranking Member Zaman Jamie Raskin when he tried to challenge the verdict, Republicans offered to table his appeal or kill him.
After the vote, Crockett asked Comer for clarification on his decision regarding personal attacks on members of Congress.
“I’m just curious to better understand your decision,” Crockett said. “If someone on this committee starts talking about someone’s bleach blonde, bad physique, that’s not dealing with personalities, is it?”
Chaos broke out again when one of the members told Crockett to “calm down”.
“I have two hearing aids. I’m profoundly deaf,” Comer said after the cross-examination. “I don’t get it – everyone’s screaming. I’m doing my best.”
After the committee’s chairman, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., agreed to allow Green to insult Ocasio-Cortez, Democrats tried to invoke committee rules that would have prevented Green from speaking for the rest of the hearing. Republicans voted to let him speak.
Finally, he called a short break during the discussion on questions of a rule for members who had comments from the record but wished to speak. Upon his return, he reminded his members to adhere to the “Pata’s standard of decency.”
Greene was able to speak for more than four minutes, during which time he reiterated that he would not apologize.
“I will not apologize for my words and I will not change them,” Greene said.
About an hour after the hearing was derailed, the committee began debating whether Garland should be held in contempt of Congress. refuses to hand over Audio recordings of President Joe Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur about his handling of classified documents.
Republicans interrupted Raski’s opening speech, and tensions began to rise after a long day.
The meeting was originally scheduled for 11 a.m., but was moved to 8 p.m. after several committee members traveled to New York to attend the meeting. trial of former President Donald Trump.
Committee voted 24-20 along party lines to recommend holding Garland in contempt after Thursday night’s controversial meeting. Speaker Mike Johnson’s office has not yet said when he will introduce the contempt resolution to the full House.