House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer had harsh words for Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene on Wednesday, just before lawmakers are set to consider a resolution stripping the controversial Georgia Republican from her committee assignments.
"There's no analogy that I think can be credibly made between the actions of Greene and almost anyone else in Congress with whom I've served," Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat who has been in the U.S. House for nearly four decades, told Newsweek and other reporters.
The Democrat-controlled House is expected to vote on the Greene resolution on Thursday, after Republican leaders punted on removing her from the Budget Committee and the Education and Labor Committee.
Hoyer said he spoke to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to try to privately resolve the issue early Wednesday.
"Suffice to say, obviously, they did not result in an outcome that we felt was sufficient, given her consistent statements before and after her membership in the Congress, which have given great concern for people's individual safety," Hoyer said. "We regret this has been necessitated."
A McCarthy spokesman told Newsweek that the GOP leader will address the topic of Greene with members later Wednesday.
Greene's office didn't respond to Newsweek's request for comment. In a string of tweets on Wednesday, she blasted Democratic lawmakers looking to unseat her.
"We know who they all are. We owe them no apologies. We will never back down. We only serve the ONE who created us ALL, and we only bow to HIM. And we know who we are, free and saved by HIS grace. No matter what," she wrote.
House GOP leaders stripped then-Iowa Congressman Steve King's committee assignments in 2019 after repeated racist remarks. King lost his bid for re-election last year.
Hoyer said he felt that King's remarks were "not nearly as incendiary" as Greene's because hers made colleagues feel unsafe.
"She's placed many members in fear for their welfare," Hoyer said. "We believe she also gave aid and comfort to those who led an insurrection."
Greene has spread unfounded conspiracy theories and been linked to comments online that promote violence against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats, which Hoyer deemed "hostile rhetoric and hostile actions" that have continued since she joined Congress last month.
Republican supporters in Greene's northwest Georgia district penned a letter to House leaders Tuesday supporting Greene and attacking Democrats.
While some Republican members of Congress also have come to Greene's defense, U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has spoken out against her as a "cancer" that threatens the GOP.
"We'll see on the floor, how many Republicans share that view," Hoyer said, adding he hopes that there will be bipartisan support for ousting her from committees.
