Censure Resolutions Introduced Against Two Georgia Republicans
Well, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Q-GA) isn’t the only Georgia Republican in the news this week. (Honestly, it’s way past time for Leader McCarthy to kick Greene out of the House Republican Conference.) Reps. Jody Hice and Andrew Clyde have also generated some news because of their recent comments downplaying the events that happened at the Capitol on January 6. I covered Clyde’s comments here.
Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) has introduced separate resolutions, H.Res. 419 and H.Res. 421, to censure Hice and Clyde. The resolutions are generally the same, with the exception of the specific quote that prompted Cicilline to file the resolution. As I mentioned, Clyde’s comments have already been covered here. Hice’s comments haven’t.
During a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing earlier this month, Hice said, “Another narrative I want to bring up is that the-the-the media claims that the tragic death of Officer Brian Sicknick was a result of pro-Trump mobs bashing his skull with a fire extinguisher, which we all know now did not happen. Officer Sicknick, his autopsy revealed that he suffered no blunt trauma. In fact, his mother has since come out saying he died of a stroke. In fact, it was Trump supporters who lost their lives that day, not Trump supporters who were taking the lives of others.”
Hice has defended his comments and reiterated his condemnation of the January 6 storming of the Capitol. “Almost immediately after the hearing concluded, Democrats and liberal media outlets seized on snippets of my statement and alleged that I was ‘downplaying’ or ‘whitewashing’ the events of January 6. Even a quick effort to watch my entire statement would show that wasn’t the case,” Hice wrote. “In fact, I forcefully condemned the January 6 Capitol riot, just as I have all political violence.”
“Facts matter. January 6 was a horrific and tragic day, and we can never allow it to be repeated – and that requires a truthful examination of what occurred. To truly heal and bring Americans together, we cannot simply accept a prevailing emotionally charged narrative set in the immediate aftermath, and that remains essentially unchanged even as new facts continue to emerge,” he added.
The resolutions are unlikely to go anywhere. Facts, as Hice said, do matter. However, it has become abundantly clear that House Republicans are trying to downplay the attack on the Capitol because it leaves them politically vulnerable. The removal of Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) from her leadership post for simply telling the truth about January 6 makes House Republicans look bad, especially while Greene has gone unsanctioned for her many embarrassing statements. It’s a shame that this is lost on most Republicans.
