In an interview with CNN on Friday, Republican Rep. Carlos Gimenez of Florida explained why he voted to remove his colleague Marjorie Taylor Greene from House committees.
Per Mediaite , speaking with host Wolf Blitzer, Gimenez said Republicans need to distance themselves from the QAnon conspiracy theory if they want to win in the 2022 midterms.
“I had to vote my conscience and I felt that she should not be, especially, on the education committee,” the congressman said, noting that he has not received any criticism from his colleagues.
Earlier this week, House Democrats pushed to remove Greene from key House committees, claiming she poses a danger to other members of Congress because she previously endorsed calls to violence and followed the QAnon movement.
Blitzer pointed out some have argued that Greene’s own party should have disciplined her in order to avoid setting a dangerous precedent for the future and allowing lawmakers from both parties to vote on removing a congressperson from a panel.
Gimenez agreed the situation set a precedent and said he wants Democratic politicians “to be held to the same standard as well.”
“I look towards the Democrats and some of the members that they’ve had that have made some anti-Semitic remarks, had some interesting conspiracy theories of their own.”
Though Gimenez broke with most of his colleagues and voted to kick Greene off the Education and Labor and Budget committees, last month he objected to the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The congressman stated he had every right to do so, but told Blitzer he accepts President Joe Biden won the 2020 race fairly.
Greene addressed the controversies surrounding her at a press conference on Friday. The congresswoman said she doesn’t mind being removed from the panels and claimed Democrats actually did her a favor because she will have more time to reach out to her constituents and conservative voters in other states.
“I can talk to more people and make connections and build a huge amount of support that I’ve already got started from people that want to put America first,” she stated.
At the fiery briefing, Greene also attacked members of the media, told them to apologize for suggesting that former President Donald Trump colluded with the Russian government to win the 2016 presidential election and argued Trump should not be held responsible for the January 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol.
“The responsibility falls squarely on those that invaded the Capitol. The ones that planned it ahead of time,” she said.
