(Headline USA) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi intensified pressure Thursday on House Republican leaders for their handling of a controversial GOP freshman.
She denounced them for placing a lawmaker who Pelosi says has “mocked the killing of little children” on the chamber’s education committee.
Pelosi’s comments focused on Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., whose views were in the spotlight even before she joined the House this month.
On Thursday, Pelosi referred to social media posts reported by Media Matters for America, a liberal watchdog group, in which Greene pushed conspiracy theories or “liked” posts that challenged the narratives surrounding mass shootings at schools in Newtown, Connecticut, and Parkland, Florida.
“Assigning her to the education committee, when she has mocked the killing of little children” at those schools, “what could they be thinking, or is thinking too generous a word for what they might be doing,” Pelosi said of Republican leaders. “It’s absolutely appalling.”
Greene responded to the allegations, saying: “Many posts have been liked. Many posts have been shared. Some did not represent my views.”
In a statement to Axios, a spokesman for House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy called the posts “deeply disturbing” and said McCarthy “plans to have a conversation with the Congresswoman about them.”
It’s unclear when that conversation may happen. McCarthy flew to Florida on Thursday to meet with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel called the posts “disgusting,” adding that they have “no place in our party” and “should be looked into.”
On Wednesday night, a reporter from WRCB-TV attempted to ask Greene about her social media posts during a town hall for constituents in Dalton, Georgia.
Greene’s staff and a sheriff’s deputy kicked out the reporter after asking a question about her posts.
The Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment and directed questions to Greene’s office.
A spokesperson for Greene’s office said in a statement: “This was a town hall for constituents. Not a press conference.”
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press.
