Watch Steny Hoyer ask GOP lawmakers to imagine if Greene's inflammatory social media posts were about them

Before the House voted to strip Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) of her committee posts, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) explained why Greene's extremist social media posts put their colleagues in danger.

Hoyer brought a poster to the floor that showed one of Greene's old Facebook posts. The image depicted Greene holding a gun, next to photos of progressive Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.). The women have been dubbed "The Squad," and written at the bottom of the post were the words "Squad's Worst Nightmare."

"I ask my colleagues on the other side of the aisle when they take this vote: Imagine your faces on this poster," Hoyer said. "Imagine it's a Democrat with an AR-15. Imagine what your response would be and would you think that that person ought to be held accountable?"

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"They're not 'The Squad,'" he continued. "They're Ilhan. They're Alexandria. They're Rashida. They are people. They are our colleagues." Hoyer asked if the image — which was removed from Facebook for violating its policies — was intended to scare the women so they "would have a nightmare about somebody with a gun, an AR-15. I urge my colleagues to look at that image and tell me what message you think it sends." Eleven Republicans voted with all of the Democrats to eject Greene from her two committees. Catherine Garcia