Titus joins effort to expel controversial Georgia lawmaker

WASHINGTON — House Democrats moved Friday to expel a freshman Republican colleague who has called recent mass shootings — including the Oct. 1 tragedy in Las Vegas — fake events that are part of a government plot to confiscate guns from citizens.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., also has advocated violence against Democrats, ramping up hostility in the House with a virulent level of political discourse evident across the country.

Greene has advanced conspiracy theories that deny the massacre of school children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut and students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. She has called them “false flag” events used by the government as a pretext to confiscate weapons.

Lawmakers backing a resolution to remove Greene include the dean of the Nevada congressional delegation, Rep. Dina Titus, who said she was appalled by the callous and false comments about the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history that occurred on the Las Vegas Strip.

Titus called Greene “a legitimate security concern” because of her her embrace of QAnon and calling for the execution of Democratic politicians with whom Greene disagrees.

Congresswoman Greene should be removed from Congress. She has encouraged executing politicians who disagree with her and her presence on the House floor is a legitimate security concern.

— Dina Titus (@repdinatitus) January 29, 2021

“She made the deranged allegation that 1 October — the darkest day in our city’s history — was a government plot,” Titus said. “The victims’ families, the survivors, and our first responders deserve far better than having that vile ignorance spewed in the halls of Congress.”

Titus has signed onto a resolution sponsored by Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., to expel Greene from the House. He is asking Democrats and Republicans to sign the resolution, which could get a vote next week. Under Article 1, Section 5, the House may expel a member with a two-thirds majority, or 290 votes. Majority Democrats would need nearly 70 Republicans to join them in approving the resolution.

“I did not make this decision lightly,” Titus said. “In my 10 years of public service in the U.S. House of Representatives, I have never called for the removal of anyone from Congress. This time it’s different.”

Withholding comment

Rep. Mark Amodei, the only Republican in the Nevada delegation, said he would withhold comment on the resolution until it comes to the floor for a vote.

Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nev., declined to comment through a spokeswoman. “Congresswoman Lee has no interest in elevating this conspiracy theorist turned congresswoman, and will not be commenting further at this time,” the spokeswoman said.

Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., said in a statement that Greene’s actions and threatening behavior toward members of the public and her colleagues, including Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., must be addressed and taken seriously.

Horsford supports measures up to and including expulsion and believes the House Ethics Committee needs to take up a review of the allegations against Greene to protect all members, staff, and the institution itself.

“These reports are serious and must be addressed within the rules of the House,” reads a statement released by his office.

Bush was given permission by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to move from her office to another location after Bush said a maskless Greene berated her in the hallway.

Bush is a Black Lives Matter activist. She called for an investigation into whether House members assisted violent rioters during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. Bush said Greene was one member who should be included in that investigation.

Greene: ‘Won’t back down’

Greene used her Twitter account Friday to refute the Bush accusation. Greene said it was she who was berated by Bush.

Greene claims she is being targeted by Democrats because she is a threat to their goal of socialism. She further claimed Democrats were being aided by the “Fake News Media.”

“I will never back down,” she said in a statement.

Pelosi has called on Republican leaders to address Greene’s comments and criticized the GOP for placing her on the Education and Labor Committee, noting her comments about the school shootings and mocking the death of children at Sandy Hook.

“It’s absolutely appalling,” Pelosi said during her weekly news conference.

Republican group ‘appalled’

A spokesman for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said he is disturbed by Greene’s comments and plans to talk with her about them.

House lawmakers were home for a district work period and will return to Washington next week.

Greene, a former online commentator who embraced the QAnon movement — which alleges Democrats are part of a Satan-worshipping pedophile cult — has a past history of insensitive comments about Blacks, Muslims and Jews. She also has support among some of the alt-right groups involved in the insurrection this month, including the Oath Keepers.

The Republican Jewish Coalition released a statement Friday that read “we are offended and appalled by her comments and her actions.”

“She is far outside the mainstream of the Republican Party and the RJC is working closely with House Republican leadership regarding next steps in this matter,” the statement read.

Contact Gary Martin at gmartin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @garymartindc on Twitter.