As Dems threaten to expel Marjorie Taylor Greene from U.S. House committees, Texas GOPer signals future payback

Updated at 4:40 p.m.: Revised to include additional comments and information.

WASHINGTON — As Democrats threaten to remove a freshman Republican congresswoman from her committee assignments over her violent, conspiracy-laden rhetoric, a Texas Republican in Congress is signaling that the GOP may seek payback in the future.

Woodville Rep. Brian Babin filed an amendment late Tuesday that would eject Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., instead of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., from her committee assignments.

Babin, who cited remarks by Omar that the Anti-Defamation League called anti-Semitic, knew his effort wouldn’t succeed in the Democratic-run House — and it didn’t. The House Rules Committee on Wednesday deemed his amendment out of order and advanced the resolution to punish Greene.

But the Texan, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, indicated that he was trying to make a point.

“If the Democrat Majority wants to go down this road, they should start by dealing with their own members who have been at this before and AFTER their election to Congress,” he wrote on Twitter, suggesting that the GOP could turn the tables whenever it retakes the House.

Babin, who urged Democrats to stand down, added that “for literally centuries, the majority in the House — whether that be Republican or Democrat — has always allowed the minority to choose from their ranks who will sit on as many committee seats as they are allotted for that Congress.”

Proceeding with a resolution stripping Greene of her committee assignments would shatter “our institutional norms and precedents,” said Babin, who was joined by five other GOP lawmakers, including Amarillo Rep. Ronny Jackson, in submitting his amendment focused on Omar.

Greene, who retweeted Babin’s tweet, suggested much the same as she criticized Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Florida Democrat who offered the resolution against Greene.

“The precedent she’s setting will be used against members of her own party,” said Greene, who’s refused to apologize and has been fundraising off of the Democratic campaign against her.

Democrats appeared poised to make good on their threat to sanction Greene, who has received bipartisan criticism for peddling grotesque falsehoods related to the QAnon conspiracy theory, sharing racist and anti-Semitic views, and endorsing political violence.

The House is slated to vote on the matter Thursday.

Democratic leaders in the House had made clear their preference that the GOP act on its own to strip Greene of her committee assignments. But House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California declined to take that step, even as he condemned Greene’s remarks as having “caused deep wounds.”

“The Democrats are choosing to raise the temperature by taking the unprecedented step to further their partisan power grab regarding the committee assignments of the other party,” he said, seeking to make a distinction over comments Greene made before she took office last month.

Democrats have expressed outrage over Greene’s remarks and the GOP’s subsequent inaction, particularly in the wake of last month’s Capitol insurrection.

“Republicans had an opportunity to repudiate Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Q-Anon insanity, racism & dangerous threats,” Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, wrote on Twitter. “They didn’t and some are now outraged that we aren’t mirroring their cowardice.”

Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern, the Democrat who leads the House rules panel, called Babin’s effort to tag Omar instead Greene “unbelievable” and criticized the Texan for “false equivalence.” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi went after McCarthy, issuing a news release that gave his affiliation as “Q-CA”.

Omar — who previously apologized for her past comments about Israel — took to Twitter late Tuesday to say that “it’s really sad to see how much of the whataboutism from the media and the Radical Right is rooted in misogyny, islamophobia and racism.”

“Stop whitewashing the actions of the bigoted conspiracy theorists, violent insurrectionists and fascist cult followers of Trump,” she wrote, make reference to former President Donald Trump.

There are also significant cross currents in the GOP, even as Greene has backup from Trump, still the party’s predominant political force, along with many other conservatives.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has blistered Greene, saying “loony lies and conspiracy theories are cancer for the Republican Party and our country.” Former Rep. Will Hurd, R-San Antonio, said this “Marjorie Taylor Greene nonsense has gone on long enough” and “she needs to go.”

Some Republicans on Wednesday sought to distance themselves from Greene while also questioning the Democratic effort to strip the Georgian of her committee assignments.

Pilot Point Rep. Michael Burgess, who serves on the House Rules Committee, said that he doesn’t support Greene’s comments and pointed out that he backed her GOP primary opponent. But he also said he didn’t “quite understand” the way Democrats sought to sanction Greene.