Marjorie Taylor Greene's Plan to Censure Rashida Tlaib Is Falling Apart

Marjorie Taylor Greene's move to censure House Democrat Rashida Tlaib appears to be in real trouble, with the Georgia Republican admitting a number of her GOP colleagues are opposed to the move.

Greene introduced a resolution to censure Tlaib to the House on October 26. She said the Muslim representative was an "Israel-hating, America-hating woman who does not represent anything America stands for," in response to comments she made regarding the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Newsweek has reached out to the offices of Marjorie Taylor Greene and Rashida Tlaib by telephone.

However, during an appearance on The Charlie Kirk Show, on the Real America's Voice network, Greene named three of her colleagues, whom she said opposed the motion of censure, which requires a simple majority to pass. This means that, unless it receives some Democratic support, it can be blocked by a handful of Republicans, due to the party's wafer-thin majority in the House.

Tlaib has come under fire after refusing to apologize after blaming Israel for an explosion at the Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, on October 17, which U.S. intelligence later said was caused by a misfired Palestinian rocket.

Speaking to Kirk, Greene said: "I want to let you know I was shocked last night on our GOP conference call when several Republican members of Congress spoke up and said they did not want to vote to censure Rashida Tlaib. That was Walberg from Michigan, Rep. Duarte from California and Rep. Young Kim from California."

Greene was particularly critical of Rep. Young, who voted to remove the Georgia firebrand from House committees in 2021 after accusing her of spreading "antisemitic conspiracy theories."

Greene said: "Young Kim I'd like to remind everyone voted to kick me off of committees yet somehow she feels uncomfortable voting to censure Democrat anti-Israel, pro-Hamas Rashida Tlaib, so it seems like Republican Young Kim would rather stand with Rashida Tlaib than stand with me."

Contrary to Greene's claim, Tlaib has never explicitly endorsed Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States in 1997 and the European Union. The European Parliament wrote this month that it "condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the despicable terrorist attacks committed by the terrorist group Hamas against Israel."

Greene's motion calls for Tlaib to be censured for "antisemitic activity, sympathizing with terrorist organizations, and leading an insurrection at the United States Capitol Complex."

The 'insurrection' allegation stems from Tlaib's participation in a Jewish-led, pro-Palestinian protest at the Capitol's Cannon House Office Building on October 18, which a Capitol police spokesperson told Newsweek was "generally a peaceful demonstration."

Tlaib has hit back in a statement, saying: "Marjorie Taylor Greene's unhinged resolution is deeply Islamophobic and attacks peaceful Jewish anti-war advocates. I am proud to stand in solidarity with Jewish peace advocates calling for a ceasefire and an end to the violence.

"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," Tlaib added.

During her appearance on Kirk's show, Greene said that a number of Democrats have privately told her that they back censuring Rashida, without naming then.

A clip from the interview was posted on X, formerly Twitter, by Ron Filipkowski, editor-in-chief of Meidas Touch, a self-styled pro-democracy news network, where it received more than 110,000 views.

In response to Greene's move to censure Tlaib, Rep. Becca Balint, a Democrat from Vermont, introduced a motion to censure Greene herself over "her record of antisemitic, anti-LGBTQ, xenophobic, and racist rhetoric and conspiracy theories."

Balint said: "If you want to talk antisemitism, look no further than Rep. Taylor Greene. Today, I moved to censure Rep. Taylor Greene to finally get accountability for years of lies and hate.

"Rep. Taylor Greene's resolution to censure Rep. Tlaib is an overt Islamophobic attack on the only Palestinian-American member of Congress," Balint added.