Pelosi: House Ethics Committee should 'probably' investigate altercation between Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and AOC

nancy pelosi
(Image credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) suggested the House Ethics Committee may need to investigate Wednesday's altercation between fervent reader Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)

At her weekly press conference on Thursday, Pelosi addressed Greene's shouted and tweeted comments calling Ocasio-Cortez a "terrorist sympathizer." Pelosi labeled the incident a "verbal assault," adding that it was "so beyond the pale of anything that is in keeping with bringing honor to the House."

According to eyewitness accounts from two Washington Post reporters, Greene yelled after Ocasio-Cortez as she exited the House chamber. When AOC didn't respond, Greene "continued shouting while asking [Ocasio-Cortez] why she supports antifa and Black Lives Matter, claiming they are 'terrorist' groups," writes The Hill.

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Ocasio-Cortez never stopped walking, "only turning around once and throwing her hands in the air in an exasperated motion," reports the Post. Greene later tweeted she had in fact "talked" with the New York representative, who she claims is "too scared to debate" the Green New Deal.

Ocasio-Cortez' office is now "calling on top lawmakers to ensure that Congress remains 'a safe, civil place' for members and staff," writes The Hill. Greene later responded by calling her a "fraud and a hypocrite." The Ethics Committee has not yet commented on whether it will investigate.

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Brigid Kennedy

Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.