Democrats burst into laughter in the House on Wednesday when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia), who presides over the House, called for courtesy.
The uproar came after House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) made comments about the debt ceiling, the subject of a high-stakes conversation between GOP lawmakers and the White House.
As Scalise was urging the Senate and White House to act on the debt ceiling increase, a member of the House of Representatives shouted in the chamber, referencing a bill passed by House Republicans last month.
“In fact, we are the only entity in the city that has actually taken action to address Washington’s debt ceiling and spending problems. I would encourage the Senate to adopt this bill, and I would encourage the President to step in and make this a reality.” Would encourage you to resolve the issue, but we’ve already voted, and the vote is on the board.
It is not clear which member shouted or said what.
“order.” Green tapped the gavel and spoke from the podium.
“I ask that the House is in order and have some courtesy on the other side,” Scalise said.
After a pause of about 15 seconds, Green asked to be escorted into the conference room.
“Members are reminded to respect the etiquette of the house,” she said.
After this, the Democrats in the chamber laughed out loud. Some members, including Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.) and Cory Bush (Democrat-Mo.), rose from their seats and began shouting.
As the laughter continued, Green struck the gavel several times.
Hill reached out to Green for comment.
Democrats’ response reflects the controversy surrounding Greene’s radical actions since his arrival on Capitol Hill. In President Biden’s State of the Union address in February, Georgia Republicans called the president a “liar” after he made comments about Social Security and Medicare.
And last month, Green silenced a Homeland Security Council hearing after accusing Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of being a liar.
After a laugh, Green said “the house will be fine” and acknowledged that Scalise could continue talking on the floor.
“Some people in this city may be interested in the drama, but House Republicans have taken action.” “We passed legislation to fix this problem. Now it’s time for my friends on the other side to get down to business and get the bill back to the Senate to deal with.”
“If they don’t like it, they can fix it. It’s part of the legislative process. Let’s do our job. We did our job, so they should do theirs.”
Scalise informed House members on Wednesday that he could leave Washington for the Memorial Day weekend, but must be prepared to return to the Capitol with 24 hours’ notice to vote on the debt ceiling cap because of the borrowing limit. Negotiations are on for an increase in
For more than a week, talks have been ongoing between Republican lawmakers and White House negotiators to reach an agreement. But the pressure has been mounting in recent days as the calendar draws closer and closer to June 1, the day Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned of a possible US debt default.
After announcing the schedule plans, House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) addressed the House to congratulate all members of the Democratic National Convention on criticizing the GOP bill and signing the discharge petition. They used to forcefully get voting on the bill increasing the borrowing limit.
All 213 Democrats have signed the petition, but the caucus needs five Republicans to join in an effort to reach the House majority threshold needed to vote on the discharge petition. But it’s an unlikely scenario as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has urged GOP lawmakers to take his side of the conversation.
But Clark urged Republicans to join the Democratic effort.
“It only takes five patriots to join us in the fight for the American people. Sign the petition with us and be here to fight for American families and fight for American safety.”