2021 will hold its place in the history books.
Thirty-five days into the new year, and today was the fourth history making event in this new year:
- January 6 – The United States Capitol was attached by insurrectionists.
- January 13 – President Donald J. Trump became the only President in American History to be impeached twice.
- January 20 – The inauguration and swearing in of the first female Vice President of the United States, let alone the first Black female of South Asian descent.
- February 4 – The United States House of Representatives voted 230 – 199 to remove a Member from her Committee assignments.
Tonight, the U.S. House voted to remove Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene from two House Committees due to her incendiary rhetoric and threats of physical violence against fellow members on Congress, namely Democrats.
In the past, Congresswoman Greene said:
- 9/11 wasn’t real
- The Parkland and Sandy Hook shootings didn’t occur
- President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton should be lynched
- California wildfires were started by aliens
- Supports views of QAnon
- Threatened violence against Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi as well as other female Democratic Members of the House called the “Squad”.
- Most recently, she has refused to comply with House rules that prohibit firearms on the House Floor and House Office Buildings.
Tonight’s vote is historic and unprecedented because the majority party, in this case Democrats, stepped in to decide a matter that the minority party (Republicans) should have handled themselves.
It’s a drastic step because House Republican leadership declined to take action against the controversial congresswoman, prompting Democrats to take the matter into their own hands.
Tonight, 11 Republicans joined 219 Democrats in voting to remove Greene from the Education and Budget committees.
Who are the 11 Republicans who voted against their party to strip Congresswoman Greene’s committee assignments?
- Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.)
- Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.)
- Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (N.Y.)
- Rep. John Katko (N.Y.)
- Rep. Chris Jacobs (N.Y)
- Rep. Carlos Gimenez (Fla.)
- Rep. Young Kim (Calif.)
- Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (Fla.)
- Rep. Chris Smith (N.J.)
- Rep. Fred Upton (Mich.)
- Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart (Fla.)
Critics believe tonight’s vote sets a dangerous precedent in which a majority party can target a minority lawmaker for comments made before being elected. House Minority Republican Leader McCarthy condemned the move as a “partisan power grab” despite having to deal with this matter inside the Republican Caucus.
Is it a dangerous precedent?
Only time will tell.
Will 2021 and our politics return to normal soon?
Not a chance.
President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial in the United States Senate starts in 5 days.
Welcome to 2021.
