by Ross Williams, Georgia Recorder [This article first appeared in the Georgia Recorder, republished with permission]
January 17, 2023
This story was updated at 8 p.m. Jan. 17 a statement from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s office.
With Republicans regaining control of the U.S. House of Representatives, controversial Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has had her committee privileges restored after Democrats stripped them in early 2021.
Greene has been tapped for the House Oversight and Accountability Committee and the Homeland Security Committee, her office confirmed Tuesday.
The Homeland Security Committee deals with legislation involving national security matters, and Oversight is intended to check the power of federal agencies.
Greene lost her seats on the Education and Labor and Budget committees just a month after she was elected following the revelation of social media posts made before her election promoting outlandish conspiracy theories and calling for violence against political opponents.
Arizona Congressman Paul Gosar, another member of the right wing Freedom Caucus who lost his committee privileges the same year, also got a second chance Tuesday with Republicans in control. Gosar got in trouble for sharing a video featuring an anime character with his face superimposed flipping through the air with a pair of katanas and slashing a monster bearing New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s face.
Greene is often mocked on late-night television and by liberals, but she remains beloved among the most conservative members of the GOP. Greene won her bright red northwest Georgia district in a landslide, and she ranked No. 10 among all House candidates in fundraising, according to Open Secrets. Greene raised $12.4 million compared to $2.6 million for the average House member.
She has also allied herself with newly sworn-in House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a move which set her apart from fellow hard-right members. The Daily Beast reported that Greene and fellow Freedom Caucus member Congresswoman Lauren Boebert of Colorado even had a tiff in a Capitol restroom over McCarthy’s selection. While Boebert and other members of the House Freedom Caucus withheld their votes to confirm McCarthy in a push for more concessions from him, Greene called for unity, positioning herself close to the center of power in the House.
“One of the key agenda items for the Republican majority in the 118th Congress is oversight. That’s why I’m honored to be selected to serve on what could arguably be the most important committee this Congress, the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability,” Greene said in a statement.
In 2021, Greene filed a bill calling for the impeachment of President Joe Biden, accusing him of “allowing his son Hunter Biden to influence the domestic policy of a foreign nation and accept benefits from foreign nationals in exchange for favors.”
“Joe Biden, be prepared. We are going to uncover every corrupt business dealing, every foreign entanglement, every abuse of power, and every check cut for The Big Guy,” she said Tuesday, also pledging to hold federal agencies’ feet to the fire.
“The GOP majority will investigate every bit of government being used to abuse the American people,” Greene said. “Every three and four letter agency will now have to answer to Republican oversight, not the rubber-stamp of Democrat rule.
Greene has also specifically called for investigations into U.S. war assistance to Ukraine, the safety of COVID-19 vaccines and recently retired National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci.
As a member of the Homeland Security Committee, Greene said she looks forward to investigating fentanyl and undocumented migrants crossing the border.
Greene’s office said she expects her assignments to be ratified next week.
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