The U.S. House on Thursday voted to remove Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., from two committees for espousing the execution of top Democrats and spreading anti-Semitic conspiracy theories in social media posts before she was elected.
Eleven Republicans joined Democrats to expel Greene from the Education and Labor committees. Alaska Congressman Don Young was not among them.
“I have always condemned racism, antisemitism, and bigotry throughout my career,” he said in a statement issued by his office.
But, the statement said, Young considers it a dangerous step for the House majority to remove a member of the opposite party for behavior that occurred before the person was elected.
“Ultimately, the people of Georgia’s 14th district should be entrusted with the decision of who should be their voice in Congress,” Young said.
Greene is an ardent Trump supporter who was sworn into office last month. She said in a 10 minute speech on the House floor Thursday she no longer believes in the QAnon conspiracy theory.
At the other end of the Republican spectrum is Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo. Some Republicans want to punish her for voting with Democrats to impeach Trump last month.
Young’s office said he spoke up in support of Cheney in a closed-door Republican meeting Wednesday night.
Liz Ruskin is the Washington, D.C., correspondent at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at lruskin@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Liz here.
