WASHINGTON — House Republicans have assigned Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., to serve on committees again after Democrats stripped them of that privilege in 2021, according to a member of the GOP Steering Committee, which doles out the appointments.
Greene has been assigned to the House Committee on Homeland Security, which Republicans will use to focus on border security and investigate Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Last week, a House Republican from Texas filed articles of impeachment against the Cabinet member. A spokesperson for Greene also confirmed her appointment.
Gosar, meanwhile, has been assigned to the House Committee on Natural Resources, where he had served just before his removal, the member said. CNN previously reported the assignments.
In February 2021, the House, then controlled by Democrats, voted to remove Greene from the Budget Committee and the Education and Labor Committee after her social media posts had revealed she was spreading dangerous and racist conspiracy theories.
The Democratic majority chose to pursue a proposal to remove Greene from her committees after House Republican leaders opted not to take action against Greene. A freshman lawmaker at the time, Greene had come under fire for having expressed support for the QAnon conspiracy theory, embracing calls for violence against top Democrats and suggesting that the Sandy Hook and Parkland, Florida, school shootings were staged.
Later that year, in November, the House voted to remove Gosar from his two committees — Oversight and Reform, and Natural Resources — after he posted an animated video that depicted him killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and attacking President Joe Biden. As part of the measure, Gosar was censured, which is considered the harshest punishment against a member in the House, after expulsion.
Current House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., had delivered a veiled threat before the vote to remove Gosar, warning Democrats that if Republicans won control of the House in the 2022 election, Democrats’ seats on committees might not be safe.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
