Tensions reached a boiling point on the night of Thursday, May 16, during a House Oversight and Accountability Committee meeting when Texas Democrat Jasmine Crockett fired back at Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene’s insult, which many deemed racist.
The committee convened to vote on holding Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for not turning over a subpoenaed audio recording of President Joe Biden’s interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur.
Hur’s investigation aimed to determine if Biden should face charges for storing classified documents at his home.
During the meeting, Greene diverged from the topic, questioning if any Democrats employed the daughter of Judge Juan Merchan, overseeing Trump’s hush money trial.
When Crockett inquired about the relevance of Greene’s question, Greene responded with a personal attack.
“Please tell me what that has to do with Merrick Garland,” asked Crockett.
Greene retorted:
“I don’t think you know what you’re here for. I think your fake eyelashes are messing up what you’re reading.”
The exchange quickly escalated, drawing in representatives from both parties. Committee chair James Comer struggled to maintain order.
New York Democrat Jamie Raskin condemned Greene’s comments as beneath her, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez demanded they be stricken from the record, calling the remarks unacceptable.
Greene agreed to strike her comments but refused to apologize.
Despite objections, Republicans, except Lauren Boebert, voted to allow Greene to continue speaking, with Comer ruling favorably on Greene’s comments.
Crockett then sought clarification, questioning if derogatory remarks about appearances were permissible, which prompted Florida Republican Anna Paulina Luna to demand Crockett’s comments be stricken and accused her of being “out of control.”
In response, Crockett took to X (formerly Twitter) to express her frustration.
“So MTG wanted to talk about my appearance in COMMITTEE?! It’s against the rules to do… She refused to apologize! The chairman ruled that it was ok… AND I asked for clarification about what qualifies as ‘engaging in personalities’ & basically wanted to know if I could talk sh-t about her appearance as… well,” Crockett wrote. She continued, “y’all know what she looks like, right? PEOPLE IN GLASS HOUSES! This is what happens when mentally deficient people who can’t read and follow rules or just don’t give a damn… somehow end up in CONGRESS!”
Social media users quickly rallied around Crockett, condemning Greene and Luna’s actions.
“It’s the racist gaslighting for me. Jumping in a conversation that wasn’t hers and overtalking @JasmineForUS only to tell her to ‘calm down’ and ‘quit yelling’. They are all a joke, and I guess we found multiple hit dogs hollering,” one user wrote.
Another added:
“All of that but the cherry on top was the ‘you’re out of control.’”
Supporters voiced their solidarity with Crockett, applauding her for standing up to Greene.
“Marjorie Taylor Greene got exactly the right one this time. Don’t take any s—t from her. Keep calling them out, Jasmine. We stand with you,” a user responded.
After the heated exchange, the committee, primarily divided along party lines, voted mostly Republican to advance the resolution to hold Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress.
