A committee hearing descended into chaos when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called Marjorie Taylor Greene a “baby girl” and the pair exchanged personal insults in a fiery debate.
The fight broke out Thursday evening during the House Oversight Committee The vote was to charge Attorney General Merrick Garland with contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a subpoena.
Greene started the fight with a snide personal comment about Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas, criticizing her “fake eyelashes.” AOC then intervened and the pair exchanged jokes before AOC told Greene, “Oh girl, girl… don’t even play.”
Chairman James Comer desperately tried to maintain order, at one point even saying, “I have two hearing aids, I’m very deaf,” in a plea to get everyone to stop shouting.
Over the years, AOC and Greene have often clashed, with Greene previously accusing AOC of acting like a “teenage girl,” calling her a “chicken” and labeling her a “little communist.”
The fight erupted Thursday during a committee hearing over whether Garland should hold Congress in contempt for refusing to turn over an audio recording of President Biden’s interview with special counsel Ben Hur.
But the hearing quickly spiraled out of control, with representatives shooting and shouting over each other.
The chaos was caught on camera with video showing Greene aiming first at Rep. Crockett.
Greene asked if “any of the Democrats on this committee employ Judge Merchan’s daughter?”
She was referring to Rep. Dan Goldman, who has retained the services of a political consulting firm that employs the daughter of Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over Trump’s criminal trial in New York.
Crockett replied to Greene, “Please tell me what that has to do with Merrick Garland.”
Greene then said, “I don’t think you know what you’re here for… I think your fake eyelashes are ruining what you’re reading.”
She was then interrupted by Chairman James Comer who called for order.
AOC then intervened, calling Greene’s words “absolutely unacceptable” and asking her, “How dare you attack someone else’s physical appearance?”
Marjorie Taylor Greene started the fight Thursday night during the committee hearing by making a personal comment about Rep. Crockett’s “fake eyelashes”
AOC then intervened, calling on Greene to apologize and delete her comments. The argument quickly escalated as the pair exchanged personal jokes
She called for Greene’s words to be “deleted,” a procedure that allows a speaker to take back or change their comments if they are deemed out of order.
Green retaliated and asked AOC, “Are your feelings hurt?”
AOC responded, repeatedly saying, “Move her words down.”
Greene then said “aww” to which AOC replied, “Oh! Girl, baby, girl, don’t even play!’
Greene then said, “Honey, girl? I don’t think so,” and AOC replied, “We are moving and we will write down your words.”
Chairman Comer suspended the hearing while they decided whether to suppress Greene’s words.
While they were discussing, AOC could be heard saying: ‘That is absolutely not allowed’ and ‘not today’.
She added: “We’re not going to make lame excuses. She really should apologize. And that must be Mrs. Crockett’s fault too. It has to be sincere.’
Greene later said she would stand by her words but refused to apologize and went on to call AOC “not intelligent.”
During the fiery exchange, other representatives were shouting and jeering as Comer called for order.
Crockett later tried to clarify whether Greene’s personal attack on her was allowed by the committee.
She asked Comer, “I’m just curious. Just to better understand your pronunciation. If someone in this committee starts talking about someone’s pale blonde, poorly built, stocky body, that wouldn’t be personal character, would it?’
Crockett later yelled at Greene, who repeatedly told her to “calm down”
As the screaming continued, Comer was forced to gesture to his ears and say, “I don’t know if you noticed, but I have two hearing aids. I’m very deaf.’
Greene repeatedly responded to Crockett to “calm down,” prompting Crockett to begin yelling and saying “Don’t tell me to calm down, you’re talking all that noise but you can’t stand it.”
As the screaming continued, Comer was forced to gesture to his ears and say, “I don’t know if you noticed, but I have two hearing aids. I am very deaf, I don’t understand, everyone is screaming. I’m trying my best.’
Crockett later posted on X: “So MTG wanted to talk about my appearance in COMMITTEE?!”
“This is what happens when people with intellectual disabilities who can’t read and follow the rules or just don’t care… somehow end up in CONGRESS!”
The committee ultimately voted to hold Merrick Garland in criminal contempt, meaning the motion now heads to the full House for a vote.
The vote came after President Biden asserted executive privilege over the audio tapes of his interview with ex-special counsel Robert Hur in an effort to shield Garland from criminal charges.
Republicans have picked up a line in Hur’s report on the president’s mishandling of classified documents, which said Biden appeared to be an “older man with a bad memory” and wanted audio evidence.
Garland lashed out at the measure, saying earlier Thursday that the DOJ has gone to “extraordinary lengths” to provide the committee with information.
“We have gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure that committees get answers to their legitimate requests, but this is not one,” Garland told reporters ahead of a hearing to press his contempt charge.
Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., fired back: “The White House claims privilege over the recordings, but has already waived the privilege by releasing the interview transcript.
AOC and Greene have a long history of animosity.
In 2021, Greene targeted AOC, calling her a “little communist” and “not an American” and then labeling her a “hate America terrorist sympathizer.”
AOC immediately replied on Twitter, saying, “First of all, I’m bigger than her.”
Greene repeatedly demanded that AOC debate her, telling reporters, “She’s a chicken. She doesn’t want to debate. I don’t think the debate is over yet.’
The two clashed again last year when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene accused Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of acting like a “teenage girl” after the New York Democrat accused the Georgia Republican of “trafficking in anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.” .
“I have repeatedly asked you to debate me, but you have been a coward and cannot even respond. But go on CNN and lie about me,” Greene tweeted.
“When are you going to be an adult and actually debate policy with me instead of keeping your mouth shut like a teenage girl?”
