From Jewish space lasers to homeland security: Marjorie Taylor Greene snags key committee assignment two years after her removal
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene takes a photo with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Jan. 7, 2023. Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
By Jacob Kornbluh January 17, 2023
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was assigned to the Homeland Security Committee just two years after the then-Democratic-controlled House voted to remove her from all congressional committees for embracing far-right conspiracy theories.
The House Steering Committee on Tuesday announced her placement on Homeland Security, which has jurisdiction over borders. As a member, she would likely play a leading role should congressional Republicans make good on their threat to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, a Jewish member of Biden’s cabinet.
Greene, who staunchly supported Rep. Kevin McCarthy in his successful bid for House speaker, has been accused several times of making antisemitic remarks — including suggesting that a Jewish-funded space laser had sparked wildfires in California in 2018. She also promoted QAnon conspiracy theories and embraced the Nation of Islam — a group whose leaders have regularly trafficked in antisemitic tropes — in her fight against coronavirus vaccinations.
Her controversial statements led the House, with the support of 11 Republican members, to revoke her committee assignments in February 2021. McCarthy called it a “partisan power grab” and vowed to reward Greene with a key committee membership if Republicans won back control of the House in the midterm elections, which they did.
Greene survived a Republican primary in May and has moderated her rhetoric in recent months.
In an interview with Fox News last week, Greene said she never campaigned on QAnon and “like a lot of people today, I have easily gotten sucked into some things I’d seen on the internet. But that was dealt with quickly early on.”
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