House Democrats have abandoned their proposal to vote on a resolution to censure Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia). The decision to withdraw the motion came after a group of Republicans joined forces with the Democrats to scuttle a resolution that condemned Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan) for her comments about Israel.
These two censure measures were widely seen as retaliation against one another. Greene initiated her resolution to condemn Tlaib after the latter criticized Israel in the wake of last month’s attack by Hamas.
After Greene filed her motion, Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vermont), a newly elected Democratic representative, employed the same tactic to bring her resolution forward. Balint’s proposal sought to criticize the controversial statements made by the Georgian Republican during the last five years, laying the groundwork for the vote on Wednesday.
The House had planned to vote on Balint’s resolution on Wednesday night. However, after 23 Republicans joined Democrats to prevent the measure on Tlaib from being brought to the floor, Balint chose to withhold the vote for the moment.
In a statement, Balint said, “The fact remains that my Republican colleagues have allowed Rep. Greene to spew hatred and bigotry for far too long. Vermonters sent me to Congress to uphold the values of fairness and truth, and to protect our democracy. That means speaking out against a bully. I was fully prepared to move my resolution forward, and I plan to call this up for a vote at any time should we see continued vile rhetoric from Rep. Greene and her colleagues.”
However, she stated that her perspective shifted a bit after 23 Republicans opposed Greene’s rhetoric. She expressed gratitude towards those 23 representatives for “doing the right thing.”
