Out U.S. Rep. Becca Balint is forcing a vote on a resolution to censure one of her most outrageous colleagues, Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Balint, a lesbian Democrat from Vermont, made a motion Thursday on a censure resolution she’d first submitted against Greene in July, citing the Georgia Republican’s numerous anti-LGBTQ+, anti-Semitic, Islamophobic, racist, and otherwise bigoted comments as well as her promotion of conspiracy theories around mass shootings and terrorist attacks. The motion means the House of Representatives must vote on the censure within two business days.
The chamber will next meet Wednesday.
Balint took the action after a similar move by Greene to force a vote on her own censure resolution against Democratic U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan. Greene’s resolution accuses Tlaib, a Muslim and Palestinian American, of “anti-Semitic activity, sympathizing with terrorist organizations, and leading an insurrection at the United States Capitol Complex,” Greene said on the House floor.
Protesters calling for a cease-fire in Israel’s war with Hamas rallied outside the Capitol October 18 and then entered the Cannon House Office Building. Tlaib addressed the rally but did not participate in any of the indoor activities, sources told NBC News. Greene described the protesters’ entry into the office building as an insurrection, but while it was “loud and disruptive,” it was in no way comparable to the riot at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, NBC reports.
Balint’s resolution notes that Greene has often called LGBTQ+ people “groomers” and made other hateful comments about the community. Further, it says, Greene has claimed that Muslim members of Congress are “not really official” because they didn’t take their oath of office on a Bible and referred to these members as the “jihad squad”; said that Black Americans are “slaves to the Democratic Party” and should be proud of monuments to the Confederacy; alleged that several mass shootings were staged events designed to stir up support for gun control; called for the execution of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi; said that the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, were perpetrated by the U.S. government; and claimed that space lasers controlled by prominent Jewish families caused wildfires.
MeidasTouch (@meidastouch) on Threads“If you want to talk antisemitism, look no further than Rep. Taylor Greene,” Balint said in a Thursday press release. “Today, I moved to censure Rep. Taylor Greene to finally get accountability for years of lies and hate.
“Rep. Taylor Greene’s resolution to censure Rep. Tlaib is an overt Islamophobic attack on the only Palestinian-American member of Congress. Her resolution is riddled with lies. It’s bigoted. It’s dangerous. This kind of rhetoric fans the flames of hate and fear at a time when Muslim Americans are already facing increased threats and violence. Rep. Tlaib is a valued legislator, a fighter for her community, and a friend. This attack, based on bigotry and conspiracy theories, has no place in the House.
“On his first day as Speaker, Mike Johnson has allowed Islamophobia and baseless lies to take center stage on the House floor. Elevating conspiracy theories erodes faith in this institution and shows the true colors of the Republican party.”
Balint has a Jewish father, who is a Holocaust survivor, and a non-Jewish mother. Her paternal grandfather was killed in the Holocaust. “My spiritual life is an amalgamation of Judaism, Quakerism and Buddhism,” she once told The Times of Israel.
A censure is a formal vote of disapproval of a legislator’s conduct. It does not remove a person from office or come with other punishments, although removal from committee chair positions can be added to it.
Pictured, from left: Becca Balint and Marjorie Taylor Greene
