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'Some Ridiculous Stunt': Freshman Congresswoman From Vermont Is Looking to Censure MTG

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  July 25, 2023 5:30 PM

Fallout continues to come for Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) after she dared to raise questions about whether Hunter Biden violated the Mann Act when he paid to have prostitutes travel to him. During last Wednesday's House Oversight Committee, Greene held up images in which Hunter Biden and prostitutes were engaging in sexual acts. On Tuesday, Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) introduced a resolution calling out such behavior, though it was not the only issue she had with Greene, as she also included over 40 points of grievances against her colleague. 

The resolution provided little context on that particular issue, though. "Whereas, on July 19, 2023, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene displayed graphic pornographic images during an official committee hearing that she claimed depicted a member of President Biden’s family[,]" it simply read. 

In a video shared to her official Twitter account, Balint discussed the privileged resolution as a matter of how "I have to continue to do the rest of my job." With regards to the examples, Balint spoke to what she said was "absolutely outrageous for an official here in Congress, describing Greene's behavior in terms such as "fear-mongering," "hate-mongering," "Islamophobic," "antisemitic," what Balint said was "against my community," referring to "the LGBTQ community," and "peddling in conspiracy theories."

Balint has spoken of herself as the first woman from Vermont elected to Congress. The Twitter bio for her official account also includes pronouns and the rainbow pride flag. 

"This is what she does day in and day out," Balint continued to say about Greene, "instead of doing the work that we're sent here to do," which is to "work on behalf of our communities and our citizens."

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Balint became particularly dramatic towards the end, noting "I came here not just to fight for Vermonters, I came here to fight for democracy, to stand up and say principled people across this country have to say enough." She continued with a deceleration that "we're at an inflection point" and that "we must do everything that we can to prevent these extremists from becoming normalized."

The freshman congresswoman closed her video message by looking to really drive home what an "extremist" she considers Greene to be. "We have to say there actually is a bottom, and we're gonna stand up to the extremists."

The congresswoman's office also released a statement with similar messaging, though it also referenced a favorite Democratic talking point of January 6. "Censuring Rep. Taylor Greene is about the health of our democracy and faith in government. Her antisemitic, racist, transphobic rhetoric has no place in the House of Representatives. I ran for Congress after watching on January 6th that anti-democratic messages and fearmongering have real consequences for our democracy," her statement claimed.

"Unserious elected officials like Taylor Greene make a mockery of our democratic institutions and derail us from the urgent work we’ve been tasked with," Balint continued in her statement. "This job is about alleviating suffering and supporting our communities, and instead Taylor Greene uses her position as a megaphone for conspiracy theories and hate speech. There must be a counterforce that comes from within Congress. It begins with principled members standing up and saying we have had enough."

Greene does not seem phased by the privileged resolution. "I don’t know who this freshman Democrat is. They must have terrible fundraising numbers because they’re pulling some ridiculous stunt," Greene said, according to The Hill. "Looks like four pages of slander, because I looked at the first few lines and I was like, 'That’s not even true,'" adding "I could care less."

The congresswoman also tweeted out coverage from Apple News, adding that "Geez fundraising must be really bad."

When it comes to that committee hearing, Hunter Biden's attorneys last Friday filed an ethics complaint against Greene for showing those images. A lengthy Twitter thread from Saturday morning from the congresswoman would suggest that she's not worried about this either. She also continued to show those graphic images over Twitter in recent days to highlight the importance of calling Hunter Biden out and investigate whether he committed Mann Act violations. 

Greene has been busy, not just when it comes to speaking out against Hunter Biden, but promoting the Protect Children’s Innocence Act, which was introduced in March. The bill would, according to a press release from when the bill was introduced in a previous Congress, "criminalize genital mutilation and chemical castration of minor children."

The congresswoman has also been emphasizing the need for the Republican-controlled House to impeach President Joe Biden. Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) raised the possibility of impeachment on Monday night during his "Hannity" appearance, doubling down further on Tuesday. 

Speaking about impeachment, Greene referenced previous action taken against her, when she was stripped of her committee assignments in February 2021, under a Democratic-controlled House.