YIKES! Sparks were flying.
During a heated session of the House Oversight Committee on Thursday night, tensions flared as Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and Democratic Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jasmine Crockett exchanged sharp personal insults, overshadowing the official proceedings.
The hearing, which focused on a contempt resolution against Attorney General Merrick Garland, quickly derailed after Greene (R-Ga.) introduced a controversial topic involving the daughter of Judge Juan Merchan, who is overseeing former President Donald Trump’s hush money case. Greene’s subsequent remarks about the appearance of Crockett (D-Texas) further ignited the discord.
Greene initiated the confrontation by questioning whether any Democrats on the committee employed Judge Merchan’s daughter. This prompted Crockett to challenge Greene’s relevance to the matter at hand, asking, “What does that have to do with Merrick Garland?” Greene retorted with a personal jab, suggesting Crockett’s “fake eyelashes” were impairing her reading ability, causing uproar among the committee members.
Democratic ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) immediately condemned Greene’s comments. Raskin criticized the remarks as beneath the standards of the committee, while Ocasio-Cortez demanded they be struck from the record, asserting the unacceptability of attacking someone’s appearance. In response, Greene mocked Ocasio-Cortez’s reaction, further escalating the tension.
The situation momentarily calmed when Greene agreed to strike her remarks but refused to apologize. She provocatively challenged Ocasio-Cortez to a debate, which Ocasio-Cortez dismissed as unnecessary, leading Greene to insult her intelligence.
As the session seemed to be settling down, Crockett seized the microphone to deliver a pointed remark about personal attacks, indirectly referencing Greene’s appearance. This statement confused Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), who struggled to understand Crockett’s comments.
The exchange continued to draw reactions from the committee members, with Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) advising Crockett to calm down. Crockett, undeterred, defended her right to respond to personal insults, highlighting the hypocrisy of being told to temper her reactions when subjected to disrespect.
Following the acrimonious exchanges, the committee voted along party lines to advance the contempt resolution against Garland to the full House of Representatives. The resolution centers on Garland’s alleged non-compliance with a subpoena related to an audio recording of President Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur during the federal investigation into his handling of classified documents.
WATCH:
This video lays out what happened in tonight’s heated exchange in the oversight hearing pic.twitter.com/7QTmpsa1eA
— Acyn (@Acyn) May 17, 2024