Topline
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., called for “decorum” Friday after a tense exchange during which Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., criticized a first-term Democrat’s “fake eyelashes”, only to be slammed in response for her “bleach blonde bad-built butch body,” with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-N.Y., also entering the fray.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., called for “decorum” after a contentious stand off between Rep. … [+]
Key Facts
The standoff came during a House Oversight Committee hearing Thursday night on whether to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt for refusing to turn over audio tapes of an interview between President Joe Biden and special counsel Robert Hur where Biden reportedly showed signs of a “significantly limited” memory.
In that hearing, Greene asked if “any of the Democrats on this committee” employ the daughter of New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, the judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial—seeming to reiterate Trump’s baseless theory that the judge in the case is biased.
In response to Greene’s question, Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crocket, Texas, asked if Greene knew “what you’re here for,” prompting a tense back-and-forth ending with Greene arguing Crocket’s “fake eyelashes are messing up what you’re reading.”
Ocasio-Cortez then shot back at the Trump-aligned Republican, calling Greene’s response “absolutely unacceptable,” and asking, “how dare you attack the physical appearance of another person,” with Greene responding: “are your feelings hurt?”
Ocasio-Cortez then called Greene a “baby girl,” and motioned to strike Greene’s comments, which Greene agreed to, though she refused to apologize and called on Ocasio-Cortez to “debate” her, before arguing she does not “have enough intelligence.”
Immediately after the motion, Crocket attacked Greene for her “bleach blonde, bad-built butch body,” with committee Chair Jim Comer, R-Ky, saying: “a what now?”
Greene then told Crocket to “calm down,” to which Crocket vehemently responded, “don’t tell me to calm down, saying: “if I come and talk s**t about her we’re going to have a problem.”
Crucial Quote
In a statement Friday morning, Johnson lamented the fight was “not a good look for Congress,” arguing “decorum is an important principle to maintain” and adding: “We can have vigorous debate, that’s what this institution is built on…but you know, we have to treat one another with dignity and respect.”
Chief Critic
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa.—who himself has picked up a reputation in his first year in the Senate for his casual wardrobe and frequent political jabs—also called out the back-and-forth, saying he has “described the U.S. House as the ‘Jerry Springer Show,” and adding that today he is “apologizing to the ‘Jerry Springer Show.’” Ocasio-Cortez replied to Fetterman’s post on X, claiming he “likely would not have stood up for your colleague and seem to be confused about racism and misogyny being a ‘both sides’ issue” (Crocket is Black).
Key Background
Greene was first elected to Congress in 2020, two years after Ocasio-Cortez won her election in New York. Since coming into office, the pair have become prominent voices for the far-right MAGA movement and progressive platform, respectively, often butting heads in public outbursts. Over the past year, Greene had a tense confrontation with progressive Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., when the New York Democrat called Greene a “white supremacist,” motioned to censure Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., over pro-Somali comments, and made headlines again earlier this month triggered a motion to vacate Johnson from the speakership. Ocasio-Cortez has also slammed Republicans, blasting the Supreme Court’s conservative majority for its overturning of Roe v. Wade, calling the court “extremist.”