Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) on Friday formally introduced a resolution to expel Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) from Congress over her past indications of support for violence against prominent Democrats.
“I believe some of my Republican colleagues, and one in particular, wish harm upon this legislative body. And I’m not saying this for shock value. It’s the conclusion I drew after a member of Congress advocated violence against our peers, the Speaker and our government,” Gomez said on the House floor.
“I take no joy in introducing this resolution,” Gomez continued. “But any member who incites political violence and threatens our lives must be expelled. And I’ll do everything I can in my power to protect our democracy and keep all my colleagues safe.”
The House has only ever expelled five members in its history. And there’s a high bar to expel a member from the House: a two-thirds majority must vote in favor.
House Democrats, as well as 11 Republicans, voted last month to strip Greene of her seats on the Budget and the Education and Labor committees in response to her past apparent endorsements of political violence as well as her suggestions that school shootings and the 9/11 terrorist attacks were staged.
But some Democrats like Gomez want to go further and remove Greene from Congress altogether. More than 70 Democrats have signed on to the expulsion resolution so far, according to Gomez’s office.
Gomez first announced in January that he was planning an expulsion resolution against Greene, but did not formally introduce it until Friday.
Greene accused Democrats of trying to undermine GOP women and tied Gomez’s effort to the House Administration Committee’s review of a contested race that could potentially overturn Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks’s (R-Iowa) razor-thin victory over a Democrat last November.
“There is nothing more threatening to Democrats than strong Republican Women!” Greene said in a statement on Friday. “Democrats are trying [to] overturn the will of the People who voted for both myself and Congresswoman Miller-Meeks. House Democrats have declared war on House Republican Women!”
A CNN review of Greene’s Facebook page found that she liked a comment in 2019 that said “a bullet to the head would be quicker” to remove Pelosi. And in 2018, a commenter asked Greene, “Now do we get to hang them?” in reference to former President Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Greene replied: “Stage is being set. Players are being put in place. We must be patient. This must be done perfectly or liberal judges would let them off.”
Greene also said in a speech that Pelosi was “guilty of treason,” which she noted is “a crime punishable by death.”
In the absence of serving on committees, Greene has been turning to other tactics in recent weeks to try to slow down Democrats’ floor schedule plans. She has repeatedly forced votes on motions to adjourn, which have increasingly been frustrating fellow Republicans who dislike the interruptions to committee hearings and meetings.
This story was updated at 1:47 p.m.