Greene pushes censure vote over Tlaib's Israel comments

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is introducing a measure to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the Georgia Republican said Thursday on the House floor.

The privileged motion will follow a fast-tracked process that bypasses House committees and has to be considered on the floor within two days.

Democrats are going to respond to Greene’s resolution by pushing a retaliatory censure against the Republican firebrand herself, citing her history of incendiary rhetoric — including her past flirtations with antisemitic tropes and comparison of vaccine mandates to the Holocaust. Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.) had introduced a measure in July, though Democrats opted not to advance it at the time. Her office said Thursday she’d introduce her measure when House votes concluded.

The brewing tit-for-tat will be an early leadership test for newly minted Speaker Mike Johnson as he navigates the GOP's razor-thin majority and certain members' zeal for punishing progressive lawmakers.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Thursday his party would move to censure Greene if the GOP advanced its effort to punish Tlaib.

"I think that if the House decides that they want to go down this road in terms of censure, that probably should be right at the top of the list as well," he said of Balint's resolution.

Among other issues, Greene’s resolution cites Tlaib’s support for a recent pro-ceasefire protest in a House office building organized by Jewish-led organizations that the conservative dubbed an “insurrection.” The harsh rhetoric is likely to limit any support the measure might have gotten from other Democratic lawmakers who’d been critical of Tlaib for her comments on Israel.

Meanwhile, other lawmakers are prepping several other disciplinary pushes against Reps. George Santos (R-N.Y.) and Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.). Several Republican members of the New York congressional delegation have indicated they’ll mount an effort to expel Santos after his indictment, and other GOP lawmakers have indicated they’ll move to censure Bowman over his triggering of a Capitol complex fire alarm last month. Bowman is pleading guilty to a misdemeanor and pay a fine over the incident.

Tlaib said in a statement issued later Thursday that the censure was "unhinged," "deeply Islamophobic and attacks peaceful Jewish anti-war advocates."

"I will not be bullied, I will not be dehumanized, and I will not be silenced. I will continue to call for ceasefire, for the immediate delivery of humanitarian aid, for the release of hostages and those arbitrarily detained, and for every American to be brought home," she said.