Updated
The chairman of the House education committee wants a GOP congresswoman who has previously backed conspiracy theories about school shootings to be removed from his committee.
Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., wants Republican leaders to reverse course and rescind the decision to put Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., on the House Education and Labor Committee. Scott is using as his reason Greene’s past support for baseless claims that the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., was a “false flag” operation, and that other school shootings were somehow staged.
“House Republicans have appointed someone to this Committee who claimed that the killing of 14 students and three teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was staged,” Scott said in a Thursday statement.
Scott added that by putting Greene on the committee, House GOP leaders were sending “a clear message to students, parents, and educators about the views of the Republican Party.”
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., bolstered Scott’s position on Thursday by condemning Republicans’ decision to put Greene on his committee, telling reporters, “What could they be thinking? ... It’s absolutely appalling.” In addition, Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Conn., sent a letter to GOP leaders stating that Greene not be seated on the committee, citing Greene’s comments on school shootings. (Hayes’ district includes Newtown, Conn., the site of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012.)
Recent revelations about Greene’s support for these conspiracy theories has caused an uproar among Democrats in Washington. Greene has also drawn national headlines for her support for QAnon, the name used for a range of conspiracy theories that the FBI has categorized as a domestic terror threat.
Republicans announced Greene’s appointment to the committee on Monday, although it had not been finalized and approved by GOP leadership and the full House.
A spokesman for the Georgia congressman did not directly address her past comments on social media about school shootings on Tuesday, and instead focused on Greene’s support for school choice and reopening schools, among other policies.
On Wednesday, Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., announced that he would push to have Greene expelled from Congress. Gun-control advocacy groups have also said that Greene should resign from Congress.
