Dem Rep Backs Off Censuring Greene After Overdue Apology For Holocaust Comments

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 28: Representative Brad Schneider (D-IL) speaks about his experiences during a trip to Israel and Auschwitz-Birkenau as part of a bipartisan delegation from the House of Representatives on January 28, 2020 in Washington, DC. The 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau is being remembered this week around the world. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Brad Schneider
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 28: Representative Brad Schneider (D-IL) speaks about his experiences during a trip to Israel and Auschwitz-Birkenau as part of a bipartisan delegation from the House of Representatives on Ja... WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 28: Representative Brad Schneider (D-IL) speaks about his experiences during a trip to Israel and Auschwitz-Birkenau as part of a bipartisan delegation from the House of Representatives on January 28, 2020 in Washington, DC. The liberation of the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau on January 27, 1945 is remembered all around the world this week on its 75th anniversary. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) on Tuesday said he will no longer pursue a resolution to censure Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), following the GOP lawmaker’s overdue apology for “offensive” comments she made last month that likened the House’s mask mandate to the Holocaust.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Schneider cited Greene’s visit to the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. in informing his decision to back away from the censure resolution.

“I believe that words matter and that they have consequences,” Schneider said. “Elected officials, and especially members of Congress, have a great responsibility to carefully measure our words and be as precise as possible when we communicate. Sometimes we may stumble in our message. When we do, we should be given the chance to clarify exactly what we intended to say and promptly set the record straight.”

Following her visit to the museum, Greene apologized for her “offensive” Holocaust comments last month. After acknowledging the deaths of six million Jews during the Holocaust, Greene finally admitted that her comments were inflammatory.

“There is no comparison to the Holocaust,” Greene said. “And there are words that I have said, remarks that I have made, that I know are offensive, and for that, I want to apologize.”

Hours before Greene’s visit to the Holocaust museum on Monday, Schneider signaled that he was preparing to introduce his censure resolution against Greene in light of her comparisons between the Holocaust and public health requirements to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

Although Greene’s incendiary remarks drew mounting backlash, the Georgia congresswoman refused for days to back down on her remarks.

Greene initially complained about the House’s mask mandate during an interview on Real America’s Voice last month.

“You know, we can look back at a time in history when people were told to wear a gold star, and they were definitely treated like second-class citizens, so much so that they were put in trains and taken to gas chambers in Nazi Germany,” Greene said. “And this is exactly the type of abuse that (House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi is talking about.”

Greene continued leaning in on her Holocaust remarks amid the firestorm she kicked up.

Four days after Greene’s Holocaust remarks added to her long line of incendiary remarks, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) finally got around to condemning her comments.

“Marjorie is wrong, and her intentional decision to compare the horrors of the Holocaust with wearing masks is appalling,” McCarthy said in a statement. “The Holocaust is the greatest atrocity committed in history. The fact that this needs to be stated today is deeply troubling.”

Latest News
41
Show Comments

Notable Replies

  1. One wonders what the pushback would have been if Empty G had compared masks to smallpox blankets?
    Her district was once the center of the Cherokee nation after all.

  2. As the grandchild of Holocaust survivors, I disagree that, “The Holocaust is the greatest atrocity committed in history."

    Rather, the Holocaust is tied with American slavery as the greatest atrocity committed in history.

  3. Even if you give her a mulligan on all of her Holocaust similes, what she has said about 1/6 and about her fellow representatives independently deserves censure.

  4. She called Dems “Nazis” hours after her mea culpa.

    Why the fuck did they back off?

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

35 more replies

Participants

Avatar for napalmgod Avatar for richardinjax Avatar for silas1898 Avatar for epicurus Avatar for voreason Avatar for squirreltown Avatar for teenlaqueefa Avatar for becca656 Avatar for mickeyg Avatar for danny Avatar for generalsternwood Avatar for dangoodbar Avatar for mrf Avatar for tena Avatar for okdatapad Avatar for tsp Avatar for nohat42 Avatar for inthesedays Avatar for dogselfie Avatar for LeeHarveyGriswold Avatar for timbomov Avatar for geographyjones Avatar for rickanderson Avatar for schlo_trvl

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: