Republican Chairman Reprimands MTG Over Bonkers Fight With Dr. Fauci
On Monday, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene screamed at and berated Dr. Anthony Fauci in a petty fight that earned her a reprimand from the Republican chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic.
Greene called Fauci’s medical credentials into question during a hearing on the U.S. response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“That is completely unacceptable to deny Dr. Fauci, who is here as a respected member of the medical community, his title, and that’s actually a personal attack on his character,” Representative Robert Garcia, a Democrat, said.
“He’s not respected,” Greene shot back. Others on the committee quickly moved to correct Greene and have her words stricken from the record when she refused to comply.
Representative Brad Wenstrup, the Republican chair of the subcommittee, eventually reprimanded Greene and ordered, “The gentlelady will suspend.”
Garcia: Dr. Fauci is here as a respected member of the medical community
Greene: He’s not respected. I’m not addressing him as Doctor pic.twitter.com/uNPFlCCusD— Acyn (@Acyn) June 3, 2024
Garcia later tore into Greene and other Republicans for their conduct in the hearing.
“I am so sorry that you are subjected to those level of attacks and insanity,” Garcia said, addressing Fauci. “Your quote-unquote ‘so-called science’ that the gentlewoman is referring to has saved millions of lives in this country and around the world.”
Garcia went on to praise Fauci and other medical officials for saving lives during and outside of the pandemic, pointing out that Greene introduced the Fire Fauci Act and that she accused the infectious diseases specialist of creating the Covid-19 virus. Garcia noted that he lost both of his parents to Covid-19.
Marjorie Taylor Greene and House Republicans spent our whole COVID hearing attacking Dr. Fauci. I lost two parents to the pandemic so this is personal. I had to remind her of her crazy COVID conspiracy theories. pic.twitter.com/WiISn3NWUg
— Congressman Robert Garcia (@RepRobertGarcia) June 3, 2024
It’s pretty clear that Greene’s attack is part of her and other far-right Republicans’ culture-war posturing on vaccination and the Covid-19 pandemic. Rather than achieve anything, their attacks on Fauci and other medical professionals, both on Monday and throughout the pandemic, only achieve attention for themselves and dangerous health outcomes for their supporters.
Greene hasn’t had a good spring. Last month, her attempt to insult Democratic Representative Jasmine Crockett backfired and turned her into a bankable meme for Crockett, and she’s lost a lot of goodwill from her fellow Republicans over her failed effort to oust Speaker Mike Johnson.
