WASHINGTON — The House Oversight Committee descended into chaos Thursday night after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) made an offhand remark about Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas).
Crockett and Greene argued almost immediately, with Crockett suggesting that Greene did not understand the purpose of the hearing.
“I think your false eyelashes are getting in the way of what you’re reading,” Greene said.
An uproar ensued, with Comer calling for order, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.) demanding that the committee “nullify” Greene’s words, essentially reprimanding her for insulting another lawmaker.
“This is absolutely unacceptable, how dare you attack another person’s physical appearance,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
“Are your feelings hurt?” Greene said.
Comer soon suspended the hearing for several minutes so lawmakers could talk to their congressional experts, and Greene agreed to “attack” her words, but she refused to apologize, and then she and Ocasio-Cortez resumed their back-and-forth.
“Come on, guys,” Comer pleaded.
“Why don’t you debate me?” Greene said.
“I think it’s self-evident,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
“Yes, you don’t have enough intelligence,” Greene responded.
Eventually, after a few more minutes of parliamentary discussion, the committee voted to allow Greene to finish her speaking time. But Crockett wasn’t finished.
“I’m just curious, just to better understand your decision,” Crockett said. “If someone on this committee starts talking about someone’s bleached blonde, ugly build, and masculine body, that wouldn’t be engaging in personalities, right?”
“And now?” Eat said.
Jasmine Crockett on Marjorie Taylor Greene’s “bleached blonde, poorly built, masculine body” during a House committee oversight hearing.
This started after MTG said his ‘false eyelashes were messing with his reading’pic.twitter.com/kuPKMFAjFu
– Philip Lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) May 17, 2024
Shouting ensued, and finally Comer asked for a five-minute break. After they returned, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), herself one of the most fiery Republicans in the House — but also Greene’s nemesis — tried to calm things down.
“I just want to apologize to the American people,” Boebert said. “When things get this hot, unfortunately, it’s a shame for our bodies as a whole.”
The hearing was supposed to showcase the ongoing Republican effort to hold U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland accountable for contempt of Congress, but it started late because several Republicans spent the morning at Donald Trump’s trial in New York, and when Comer called the meeting was ordered, lawmakers may have been angrier than usual.
“I think these 17-hour days might not work for us,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said at one point.
