House Democrats scrapped plans to vote on a resolution to censure Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Wednesday, a last-minute move that came immediately after a coalition of Republicans joined with Democrats in torpedoing a resolution to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) over her criticism of Israel.
The two censure measures were widely perceived as retaliatory actions. Marjorie Taylor Greene initiated a resolution to censure Rashida Tlaib last week, citing Tlaib’s criticism of Israel in the aftermath of last month’s deadly attacks by Hamas as the basis for her censure motion.
Shortly after Marjorie Taylor Greene initiated her censure effort, first-term Representative Becca Balint (D-Vermont) employed a similar procedural tactic to trigger a vote on her resolution. She had introduced this resolution back in July with the aim of censuring the Georgia Republican for her controversial comments spanning the past five years. This set the stage for the vote that occurred on Wednesday.
Originally, the House was scheduled to vote on a Democratic-led effort to “table” the resolution, effectively blocking it from reaching the floor. After 23 Republicans joined Democrats in voting to table the resolution related to Rashida Tlaib, Becca Balint decided to “hold back on the vote for now.”
Balint expressed her reasoning, saying, “The fact remains that my Republican colleagues have allowed Rep. Greene to spew hatred and bigotry for far too long. Vermonters sent me to Congress to uphold the values of fairness and truth, and to protect our democracy. That means speaking out against a bully. I was fully prepared to move my resolution forward, and I plan to call this up for a vote at any time should we see continued vile rhetoric from Rep. Greene and her colleagues.” House Democrats scrapped
However, she also acknowledged a shift in perspective, adding, “When 23 Republicans said ‘no’ to Rep. Greene’s bigotry, I saw this situation a little differently. I want to thank them for doing the right thing. And I’m going to hold back on the vote for now.”
Balint’s resolution, which spans eight pages, compiles contentious remarks made by Greene both before and after her arrival in Capitol Hill in 2021. The overarching accusation in the resolution is that Greene “has repeatedly fanned the flames of racism, antisemitism, LGBTQ hate speech, Islamophobia, anti-Asian hate, xenophobia, and other forms of hatred.”
Specifically, the resolution points to Greene’s past endorsement of the 9/11 truther conspiracy theory, which alleges that the federal government orchestrated the September 11, 2001 attacks. It accuses the congresswoman of “debasing the memories of thousands of victims of the terrorist attacks.”