Top House Lawmaker for Education Wants Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Off His Committee
Blog

Your Education Road Map

Politics K-12

Politics K-12 kept watch on education policy and politics in the nation’s capital and in the states. This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: Federal, States.

Federal

Top House Lawmaker for Education Wants Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Off His Committee

By Andrew Ujifusa — January 28, 2021 1 min read
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., wears a "Trump Won" face mask as she arrives on the floor of the House to take her oath of office on opening day of the 117th Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 3, 2021.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

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.

Related Tags:

A version of this news article first appeared in the Politics K-12 blog.

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
College & Workforce Readiness Webinar
From Student Trends to Counselor Action: Turning Insight Into Impact
Find out what is changing in how students approach planning for life after graduation and how schools can help.
Content provided by PowerSchool
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
McKinney-Vento Transportation Strategies: Managing Cost & Protecting Access
Explore McKinney-Vento transportation strategies to manage costs, respond quickly to changing needs, and protect student access.
Content provided by HopSkipDrive
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Families & the Community Webinar
Celebrate Family Engagement Day With Strategies That Work
Join National PTA and AASA to explore practical systems-wide family engagement strategies in celebration of National Family Engagement Day.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Federal Video What the Midterm Elections Could Mean for Schools: 4 Takeaways
What Democratic victories and an electoral bright spot for Trump could mean for schools.
1 min read
People at a Democratic event react during an election night event at a hotel on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026.
People at a Democratic event react during an election night event at a hotel on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Federal Opinion Here's What the Blue Wave Could Mean for Education
Rick Hess and Andy Rotherham analyze how the midterms will shape school choice, sports, and more.
•
9 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Federal Democrats Will Control Congress. What Educators Can Expect
Democrats won key races across the country, with implications for K-12 policymaking in Washington.
6 min read
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., gives encouragement to volunteers at a phone bank at a hotel on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., gives encouragement to volunteers at a phone bank at a hotel on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. Democrats are on track to be back in charge in the lower chamber, giving them leverage to push their own K-12 agenda and resist President Donald Trump's.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Federal Teachers' Union Sues Trump Administration Over Student Loan Forgiveness
The American Federation of Teachers and nine student loan borrowers allege the agency is delaying Public Service Loan Forgiveness decisions.
Cris Tolomia, Quartz
•
2 min read
Education Secretary Linda McMahon prepares for an interview at the Republican convention Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Dallas.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon prepares for an interview at the Republican convention Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Dallas. The American Federation of Teachers says in a new lawsuit that the U.S. Department of Education is delaying loan forgiveness decisions for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, for which teachers qualify.
Alex Brandon/AP