THE GIRLS ARE FIGHTING!
Let me break down what went down in the House on Thursday night, where some of the most notable women in Congress went head-to-head in a chaotic and heated hearing. The drama even left Chairman James Comer, who’s been leading the investigations into the Biden administration, visibly frustrated as nothing substantial has come out of these probes yet.
The whole scene kicked off when GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from Georgia stirred the pot during a House Oversight Committee meeting. The committee was debating whether to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for not handing over an audio recording of President Joe Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur. This interview was part of an investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents. Although the DOJ released the full transcript, the White House withheld the recording, claiming executive privilege, fearing that House Republicans would twist it for political gain.
Earlier that day, the House Judiciary Committee had already voted on a similar motion. The Oversight Committee had planned to meet in the afternoon but pushed it back to accommodate some far-right members who were in New York supporting Trump in his hush-money trial.
The hearing quickly turned into a shouting match. Greene, a staunch Trump supporter who recently failed in her attempt to oust the House speaker, made a jab at Rep. Dan Goldman of New York, relating to the Trump trial. This prompted Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett from Texas to ask what her comments had to do with Merrick Garland and if she knew what the hearing was about.
Things got personal when Greene told Crockett, “I don’t know if you know what we’re doing. I think your fake eyelashes are messing up what you’re reading.” This insult led to a fiery exchange with Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who called Greene’s comments “absolutely unacceptable” and demanded they be removed from the record.
“Aww, are your feelings hurt?” Greene sarcastically retorted, which escalated the back-and-forth. Ocasio-Cortez responded with, “Oh girl, baby girl, don’t even play,” to which Greene replied, “Baby girl? I don’t think so.”
The tension kept rising as Greene later questioned why Ocasio-Cortez wouldn’t debate her, implying she lacked intelligence, which was met with boos and jeers from the committee members.
Chairman Comer struggled to keep order. Despite some procedural discussions, he ruled that Greene’s comments were inappropriate but didn’t break any rules against attacking fellow members. Greene agreed to strike her words but refused to apologize.
Crockett then threw another zinger, indirectly mocking Greene’s appearance, to which Comer, who has hearing aids, responded, visibly overwhelmed by the shouting and crosstalk.
Even Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin tried to lighten the mood by suggesting they adjourn, hinting that the long day was taking its toll on everyone. The argument shifted back to Goldman, with GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna calling him a “trust fund kid,” and Democratic Rep. Melanie Stansbury claiming some non-committee members in the room were drinking alcohol.
“I think my body’s pretty good. I’m going to be 50 this month,” Greene commented before the committee moved on to vote on whether she should be barred from speaking for the rest of the hearing. The motion failed, but notably, her former ally Rep. Lauren Boebert joined Democrats in voting to silence her.
After more than three hours of drama, the committee decided to move forward with the contempt proceedings against Garland. And that’s a wrap on one wild night in Congress!
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