U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (MI-08) released the following statement:
"Today, I voted in support of the resolution to remove Rep. Greene from her committees. I regret that this issue even required a vote, especially when the country needs Congress to be working to address the public health and economic crises facing our communities as we continue to fight COVID-19.
"Frankly, it was not a vote I took lightly. My focus was not Rep. Greene's support for outlandish conspiracies. My focus was on her demonstrated encouragement and endorsement of people threatening violence and assassination, and support for anti-semitic ideas. After spending the last week standing by those previous comments, Congresswoman Greene addressed the House today reversing her support for a number of conspiracy theories — but did not give an apology for encouraging or supporting violence. In recent months, we have seen the consequences of violent, incendiary rhetoric. As a leader, disavowing that rhetoric clearly and unequivocally makes a difference to me.
"Instead of the vote today, I would have strongly preferred that the Republican party apply the same standard to Rep. Greene that they applied to Rep. Steve King in 2019, whose racist remarks they called "beneath the dignity of the Party of Lincoln and the United States of America." The GOP unilaterally removed King from his committees when he refused to take responsibility for his comments. In absence of Republican action, and them living up to their own standards, I voted to support this resolution.
"To be clear, it is extremely important that we be consistent in how we approach the comments and actions of our peers in Congress. For me, a rubicon is crossed when individuals support or incite violence and then refuse to clearly and publicly disavow it. We cannot accept the endorsement of violence as a political tool from anyone, especially our elected leaders. And I will hold every elected leader to that standard, regardless of party."
Original source can be found here.
